


Mirror Mirror

by SailorScribble



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon)
Genre: 'Better than beer', Action, Action/Adventure, Although 'enemies' feels too strong a word because they are all friends, Angst, Because the way these three can bicker is hilarious, Character Development, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Humor, Jealousy, M/M, Mild Gore, Multi, Oral Sex, Physical Abuse, Plot Twists, Post-Season/Series 03, Slow Burn, They are all just really angry with each other when the story starts, Time Travel, Unrequited Love, because I LIVE FOR ANGST
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:15:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23996617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorScribble/pseuds/SailorScribble
Summary: This story picks up from where Season 3 left off because I'm impatient and I want more Castlevania now.Alucard is struggling to hold it together. Reluctantly, he asks Trevor and Sypha to return to him in an effort to save Dracula's castle and the Belmont hold from himself. However, he quickly realizes his old friends may not be in the best position to help him, having suffered a crippling blow involving some abbey and a portal to Hell. Meanwhile, a threat is looming from the North and the three will have to pull their shit together if they have any chance of saving the world (again).
Relationships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades, Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Comments: 167
Kudos: 266





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello folks! This is solely written for my pleasure and shared for maybe your pleasure too. I am not putting much effort into researching this to make sure all the details are canon since this is seriously JUST for pleasure. Thus, I might mess up some things here and there. I'm not gonna be picky about it. Anyway, if you find yourself here, I hope you enjoy it regardless. Added tags in anticipation of what's to come, but will probably add more as we go along. 
> 
> Aiming for weekly updates.
> 
> Thanks for popping in to read!

The mirror lay in shards across the floor. From the shards, Alucard could see his reflection a thousand times over. It was like looking at an abstract painting of a broken man. In the fractured pieces he saw his human hair, his human eyes, his vampire ears and sharp pointed teeth.

In some he could even see his wrists, the screaming red scars teasing out from the sleeves of his shirt.

And there he stood. And stared.

And stared.

Reluctantly he lifted his hands and, as if aware of his intent, the shards lifted too. They began floating about in the large room. The many reflections of himself were circling around him now, his eyes looking back at him over and over. Mocking him. 

It was too much.

In a huff he turned away from the floating glass. The glass dropped to the floor and rang out as if he had dropped the mirror from a tall height. The shrill noise of shattering glass crawled up his spine, making him quicken his pace just a little.

It was a stupid idea anyway. He didn't need the mirror.

He didn't need _them_.

\-------

The bodies of Sumi and Taka still remained on spikes flanking the entrance of his castle. They were well rotten by now, and the stench was enough to make even the flowers at their feet turn away in disgust.

Alucard couldn't help but pause before them, basket of foraged vegetables and fruit under his arm. He stood there, staring at their bodies, much like how he did the mirror. He watched hungry flies buzz around the corpses’ eyes, their arms, crawling into their mouths, tickling the tips of their fingers…

The same mouths that had pressed against his skin. The same fingers that had danced up and down his arms and legs and prodded him inside and out. The two foreigners had bewitched his body against him, making him twitch, and yearn, and cry out desperate, lustful cries before they-

Alucard's entire body stiffened with a feeling of hatred so intense, hatred only a vampire could feel. Hatred pulled up from the very bowels of Hell and churning in his stomach like rotten blood. It clouded his vision in red, made his nails stretch and sharpen, his teeth grow and a hateful hiss of hot air escaped his lungs into the morning breeze.

He was losing it. He was fucking losing it and he knew it.

He charged into the empty castle and slammed the doors shut behind him. He usually left them open, but he couldn't stand the idea of their bodies being there. He couldn’t stand the thought of there being a path between he and them. He needed a solid barrier to block them out. A shield against the world and all those who wished to hurt him.

\-------

That night he tossed and turned. If it was difficult to sleep before, it was simply impossible now. Whenever he was able to coax himself into some semblance of peace, the ghosts of Sumi and Taka would creep in and slide under the covers, making him relive the trauma again and again. He hated it. And yet, he was so unbelievably lonely, a vile and twisted part of him wanted it. Wanted even the most violent of human contact to rescue him from this miserable lonely grave.

Maybe it was the human part of him that longed to be touched. Maybe it was the vampire part that hungered for it in a shockingly predatory way. Alucard was never sure where the human ended and the monster started, and now he was more confused than ever before. Although one thing was clear; the human part of him needed to fucking sleep. The vampire part of him didn’t. Sleep for vampires was a luxury, just like eating food. Vampires liked it and enjoyed it enough to partake in both activities regularly. But they were non-essential. The human part of him, however, needed sleep, and food, and water. It needed sleep desperately, and as the days went on Alucard could feel his humanity slipping further and further away…

\-----

The next morning he moved slowly through the halls, wearing one of his father’s dark cloaks. He had started wearing his father’s clothes for reasons he couldn’t quite say. Perhaps he missed having a father and a family. Perhaps he was now so terrified and ashamed of his own body he wanted to hide it away in the shadows.

The cloak dragged behind him, sliding through the dust of a forgotten castle. An abandoned temple to a God of loneliness.

Alucard wasn’t even sure how he found himself in front of the mirror again. The shards floating around him expectantly… Waiting for his command. He had taken to wandering the corridors more and more, whiling away the time. Sometimes he would wander for days, or maybe it was only a few hours…

However long it had been, here he was again. Standing in front of the mirror. A quiet part of his subconscious drawing himself back to it... His only connection to the rest of the world.

How could he last through centuries of this? Of course he considered returning to his coffin, to sleep away the years until... What? He wasn't sure because it didn't matter. He couldn't sleep forever. He couldn’t leave the castle exposed to looters and other ne'er-do-wells. But why…? Why did it matter if it was exposed? Why did it matter if greedy humans came in and looted the place of its secrets? Why not let them build their weapons from his father's technology so they all might kill each other. Why try to protect them against their true, insidious nature!? Why did it matter what happened to them!? Why try to protect them from themselves!? Why were they _his_ responsibility!?

Alucard took a sharp breath and grabbed his head; frightened by his own thoughts. This was not good. It was becoming more and more clear that it was only a matter of time before his father’s insanity gripped its claws into him. He had to use the mirror. He had to do it while there was still a sliver of humanity left to him… While there was still a part of him that cared. He had to do this before the human part of him starved to death or died from lack of sleep, simply through his own negligence.

He clapped his hands together.

The mirror quickly responded, forming itself before him in a perfect reflection of himself. His heart lurched into his throat; his entire being wanted to turn away. To leave. To forget about trying to do anything and instead sulk around the castle letting his worries slip away into apathy. Sinking into his hatred and stop trying to be something _better_.

But there was some part of him still fighting, and it spoke for him: “Show me the hunter and the speaker.”

The mirror obeyed.

\-------

A blast of sunshine woke Trevor from his slumber as Sypha whipped back the curtains of their room at the inn. He cringed, rolling over in bed and pulling up the covers, shielding himself from the light.

He grumbled groggily, “What time is it…?” 

“It is almost midday.” Sypha responded in an angry huff.

Trevor was too tired and too hungover to deign a response. Sypha was growing less and less patient with him by the day. He wanted to care, but he found he didn’t really, “Wake me up when it’s evening,” He grumbled back to her, settling back in to sleep.

She pulled the blanket off of him with a sharp tug, “No. Trevor.” 

Trevor hissed and curled up a little as the cold of the room prickled against his bare skin. He finally opened his eyes. Sypha’s blurry form was standing above him, but her scowl was plainly visible. Her voice tittered in the air, “So _this_ is _your_ life?” She asked him accusingly, arms folded and foot tapping.

He smiled, always finding room for humor, “Not enjoying it, Sypha?”

“We speakers are used to traveling from place to place without a particular aim. We wander from town to town with no real destination, sharing our stories, our magic, our healing… But _this-”_ She waved her hand at him, “Simply moving from town to town to find the next meal, the next drink? Avoiding all opportunities to learn, to help, to do _something_ other than eat, drink, sleep, and have sex!? This is no life. How can you say we will live _your_ way when we aren’t actually living at all!?”

Trevor’s headache and dry mouth were pretty strong reminders that he was, in fact, very much alive, “I’m breathing, aren’t I?” He sat up, “Need to piss, too.” He made a motion to get up but Sypha planted a hand firmly onto his chest, “You know what I mean, Belmont. You might be breathing, you might be pissing and shitting, but you are only surviving. Like an animal.”

He frowned, “Oh yeah?” He grit his teeth, “Should we try living _your_ life again? We both saw how well that went.”

Sypha ground her teeth, glaring at him, stiff with rage, but unable to say anything. They remained staring at each other, locked in a stalemate, when the wall next to them… moved.

Trevor was the first to notice; too stubborn to lose his staring contest with Sypha he was hesitant to tear his eyes away from her, but his innate sense for threat kicked in, forcing him to look. He had to blink a few times, not sure if he was _actually_ seeing what he thought he was seeing. Sypha looked too, and the hand on his chest dropped as the tension in her body gave way, “Alucard?” She gasped.

Indeed, Alucard’s brooding face glowered back at them through some kind of warp that had opened up in the wall. How long had it been since they had last seen him? But Trevor was immediately at his feet, reaching for his weapon. The last time he had seen the fabric of the universe open like that was under the Abbey and well… He had reason to be afraid.

He quickly moved between Sypha and Alucard, shielding her from whatever demons from Hell might come pouring out from the hole in the wall. But no such thing happened. The image of Alucard’s stoic face remained unchanged, though the vampire’s eyes narrowed and his lip curled with disgust, “Good god, Belmont, is it not midday where you are? I would assume you’d be dressed by now.”

Trevor relaxed a little. It was clearly just Alucard. Alucard was annoying, yes, but he was not a threat. Trevor put the Morning Star back on the side table, “Didn’t think we’d have company.”

Sypha shot Trevor an angry look and hissed under her breath, “Put some clothes on.”

Trevor grumbled but obeyed. Meanwhile Sypha spoke with Alucard: “Is that really you, Alucard? How are you doing this?”

“Of course it’s him!” Trevor said with a laugh, “No one in the world has that level of arrogance.”

Alucard ignored the prattling Belmont, and instead addressed Sypha, “I am using my father’s mirror. It lets me see into anywhere in the world and it also let’s me-” He lifted his hand, reaching out to Sypha, but his fingers bumped up against an unseen barrier. Alucard pressed his palm against it, his open hand revealed to Sypha, then pulled his hand back with a curious frown, “...Usually it also lets people travel through it…”

Trevor cut in again, “What’s wrong, Alucard, your old man didn’t teach you how to use it?”

Alucard gave him another dirty look - well, to anyone else it would have looked like his usual emotionless expression. The vampire’s facial expressions were so incredibly mute, Trevor had mentioned more than once that Alucard was like a walking statue. But Trevor had long since learned how to read Alucard. The vampire wasn't actually as emotionless as he might have seemed at first blush. And even now, after months of not seeing each other, the subtle signs that Alucard was annoyed with him were as clear as day.

“It is true that my father did not teach me everything.” Alucard admitted, “And the mirror has been lying in disuse for some time now.” His hand receded back into his dark cloak, “I suppose I will have to read some of my father’s books. See if I can find a way to make it work like a gate instead of as a…” He paused when Trevor loudly shook out one of his pairs of pants, before sliding it onto his bare legs, “...means for spying on people…”

Sypha spoke up, “What is it then, Alucard? Why have you chosen to reach out to us now?”

Alucard shifted; the most imperceptible of movements. Trevor noticed it. He noticed the way Alucard’s body twitched under the dark cloak, the way his eyes flickered ever so slightly…

“I-” Alucard started slowly, as if looking for the right words, “...Require your assistance with something.”

Trevor was suspicious, but Sypha didn’t seem to notice any of Alucard’s troubling body language, “Our assistance?” She asked, “With what?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the details.” Alucard told her, “It would be better if you came here. So we could talk about it face to face.”

It was a lie and Trevor knew it; “Is _this_ not face to face?” He asked, now fully dressed and leaning against the bed frame, arms folded.

Another dirty look from Alucard. Trevor recalled Alucard's very own words from a now distant memory: _You’re rather perceptive, for a drunk._

Alucard returned his attention to Sypha, “I cannot make you come. I have already asked enough of both of you in defeating Dracula-”

Sypha put up her hand, “You do not need to explain any further. You are a trusted and loyal friend. Of course we will help.”

Trevor frowned, “ _We?”_

Now Sypha shot him a dirty look; her expressions were much more obvious than Alucard's. There was never anything mysterious about how _she_ was feeling. Why was everyone so mad at him?? Before she could berate him, though, Alucard spoke again, “The mirror indicates you are a little less than a month’s journey away. I will expect you then, should you choose to come.”

Sypha looked back to the vampire, her face softening, “Of course, Alucard.”

Trevor felt a twinge of jealousy over the way she looked at _him._ The pretty vampire with the long golden hair and come hither eyes. Alucard even smiled back at her, just a little, “I await your return.” Then the image vanished.

And with that Sypha began packing. Trevor gave her an incredulous look, “You’re seriously going to just drop everything and go parading across the country on a whim?”

Sypha didn’t even bother to look at him, but it was clear by how she jabbed her clothes into her bag that she was still pissed, “Drop _what,_ Trevor Belmont? We have done nothing for the past several weeks. Alucard is our friend and he say he needs our help.”

“And he wouldn't even tell us _why_ he needs help.” Trevor pointed out, “And he was acting… shifty.”

“You always think he’s ‘acting shifty’. You have always hated him despite all that he has done.”

Trevor threw up his hands, “I gave the bastard my family home! You know I don’t hate him! ... _That_ much. And besides, this wouldn’t be the first time someone we thought we could trust proved otherwise.” He said rather pointedly, causing Sypha to wince, but he didn't stop to spare her sensitivity, “I know what I saw. He was acting suspicious. It could be a trap.”

“Honestly.” Sypha stopped what she was doing and gave Trevor her full attention, “I don’t really care if it’s a trap. It’s _something._ SOMETHING to do. Some life to live. Some- ...Some _purpose_ to have again.” She threw the bag over her shoulder and marched to the door. She placed her hand on the door handle and paused.

She looked back to Trevor; her face was no longer angry but… Sad. Remorseful. Hearbroken.

Trevor’s heart skipped a beat. His cheeks flushed, he couldn’t damn help it.

“I’m-...” She looked at the ground, “Disappointed. I am disappointed in you. I am disappointed in myself. We experienced one failure… And we gave up. One failure, and we decided that helping others wasn’t worth it anymore.” She tightly gripped the door handle, “I let your self destructive nature of wallowing in self pity consume me-”

“-I wouldn’t call it ‘pity’-”

“-I still can't say if what we did was the right thing. If all that 'adventuring' was nothing more than the naive fantasy of an excited child,” She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, sucking it all back into her, “But this? This definitely isn't right either, Trevor.” She looked back at him again.

A silence fell between them, like a yawning chasm that had been growing and growing between the lovers. Trevor could see it and he didn’t want to. He had been running from the truth, trying to avoid the inevitable. But it was happening now.

She was going to leave him.

And so he had a choice. He could go with her. He could try to become a part of her story again… But his insides curdled. The idea of putting himself through yet another tragedy was too much for him to bear. He looked away from her, leaning against the bed frame, arms folded, looking at the ground. He let the silence speak for him.

Sypha sighed, unable to hide her sadness behind anger anymore. She clicked open the door and said, “I’m sorry, Trevor.” And left.

And with that Trevor Belmont was completely alone again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alucard is incensed that Trevor didn't accept his invitation, so he takes matters into his own hands.

It was a misty afternoon as Sypha made her way quietly along the forgotten forest path. Dracula’s castle was so big, even with all the fog Sypha thought she might have seen it by now. The path, too, was so overgrown part of her was nervous she had lost the way. But she was a speaker, a traveler. Speakers were expert navigators. A speaker always knew where they were, and all signs were indicating that she was in the right place.

It was only her and a small wagon she had rented for hire with the few coins she had left; Trevor’s lifestyle was nearly a complete drain on their wealth, and after weeks of traveling without him and his toxic behaviors to influence her she felt fresher, even a little renewed.

But also significantly more isolated.

Everyday she wished he was sitting next to her, even as the miserable hopeless bastard he had become. She missed his warmth. His stupid jokes. How remarkably perceptive he could be. How much he cared, even when he said he didn’t.

It was easy to grieve what one left behind, but as a Speaker she had learned how to move on from one place to another. The only way was always forward. Let bygones be bygones.

The mist swirled around her, creating creepy shapes in the fog. It put her on edge. It was always dangerous to travel alone, but Sypha was resourceful and, of course, a powerful magic user. There was little that actually scared her. But now, so close to Alucard, she started feeling a sense of dread.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised.” She said suddenly. Without a conversation partner along on her journey, Sypha had grown accustomed to talking to herself, “Perhaps it would be more strange if I felt _totally normal_ approaching the infamous Dracula castle!” She joked with herself. But… it was _she_ who had moved the castle there. She herself had made the castle bend to her will! Of all people to fear Dracula’s castle, _she_ should be the least among them.

And yet...

She bit her lip, wondering if it really _was_ the right move coming here. Then she saw them. Two stiff figures materializing in the fog. They were… Bodies. Two wretched rotting corpses hanging off of spikes that shot up through their mouths, making them gawp in a perpetual silent scream. The picture of decay and smell of rot was overwhelming. Her horse spooked and reared up, trying to back away, balking against the wagon and causing the entire cart to shutter. Sypha too covered her mouth and nose, eyes watering. She clutched tightly onto the reins, trying to calm her horse, trying not to panic herself.

Where did these bodies come from? Had she gone the wrong way? She dropped the reins and rose to her feet, ready to attack.

But the mist cleared, drifting apart like curtains to reveal two familiar doors. The entrance to Dracula’s castle.

She was exactly where she was meant to be.

\--------

Alucard was in the library, watching the front entrance of his castle in the magic mirror. He had watched and waited with so much anticipation it was suffocating. His heart had been racing since the moment he first saw Sypha and Trevor in the mirror’s reflection. It was like a high: the two companions he had most longed for, for months on end, they were talking to him. They were alive and interacting with him. They were not just sad little dolls on a kitchen shelf. Not just visages in his waking dreams. It was terrifying. It was exhilarating. He wanted it again and again.

He knew before Dracula had met his mother, the Vampire King had spent a lot of time with his mirror and Alucard was beginning to understand why. After his conversation with Trevor and Sypha, Alucard looked for his father’s notes on how to work the mirror and discerned that he must fully attune to it in order for it to do as he wanted. And thus, while Alcuard waited for Sypha and Trevor to arrive, he spent a lot of time with the mirror, using it to spy on people and places… Watching the world move by without him.

And then, eventually, he had taken to only watching the doors to his castle from the safety of his library. Waiting. Waiting for the day Sypha and Trevor would come through it.

And now… The doors opened. He recognized Sypha's nimble figure silhouetted in the late daylight spilling in behind her. It was like he was like seeing an angel.

Alucard reached out his hand for the mirror and this time he was able to push through. The image rippled around his wrist like he was breaking the surface of water. Shrouded in his dark mantel, Alucard stepped into the mirror.

\-------

Sypha nervously pushed through the heavy doors of the castle and was met with an almost complete darkness. Not even the torches were lit and the daylight struggled to break through the thick shadows of the grand foyer.

It was becoming more and more clear that something wasn’t right.

 _What if it’s a trap?_ God she would hate to prove Trevor right...

“Hello?” She called out, her voice echoing through the giant vacant space. It looked more like an incredible decorative tomb than a castle. Just in case, she readied two fireballs in her open palms, feeling like one of the shadows might lurch out at her.

She nearly jumped when one did.

“Hello.” A sultry voice echoed back to her. From the grand staircase one of the shadows moved and Alucard’s ghostly face appeared from the darkness. He was wearing a dark cloak that made him almost blend into the void and she couldn’t tell if he had grown more pale since she last saw him or if it was simply the contrast of his ashen features against the all consuming black that made him look so ghostly.

And then he disappeared.

Sypha frowned, “Aluca-?”

He was suddenly next to her, causing her to jump. She threw up her hands to her face as he loomed over her, so close his hair nearly tickled her cheeks, “Alucard!” She scolded him, “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Where is Trevor Belmont?” He asked coldly.

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms, “He didn’t come.”

Alucard’s eyes narrowed, “Didn’t come?”

Sypha scrutinized him. She remembered how icey he was, but there was something… Different to him now. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was like someone had taken a pickaxe to the surface of a frozen pond and caused all of that ice to crack and splinter… Alucard’s chilly facade was fractured.

“Alucard- ...Are you… okay?”

He turned away from her with a dramatic flourish of his cloak, “Didn’t come??” He growled again.

Sypha quickly followed behind him, “Whatever it is you need, I am _sure_ I can do it for you. Without him. He really wouldn't be much help the way he is now anyway." Her sing song voice rang throughout the cavernous space, somehow punctuating the silence.

“No." Alucard said curtly, "I will get him.”

“You’ll… what?”

Alucard began leading her around the castle, darting from one dark miserable hallway to another. She barely kept up as he turned left, right, took stairs up, down, round and round. She spoke up more than once, asking him to slow down, to talk with her, to tell her what on Earth was going on. But he ignored her, driven by something she couldn’t identify.

“Was it always such a maze in here?” She gasped.

Finally they entered a library. Sypha’s mouth fell agape as she saw a magic mirror constructing itself before them. It was incredible! Her chest inflated with excitement and wonder. The same she had felt when this whole adventure with Alucard had first started! Only now… There was a hint of shame. Shame that she was getting excited. She was supposed to be a realist now. Realists didn’t get swept up in fantasies…

It was dangerous to do that.

The mirror put itself together and with no vocal command from Alucard the image of a tavern somewhere in Wallachia appeared before them at the edge of day.

Alucard stepped forward, "Wait for me here.” And Sypha watched in amazement as he walked through the mirror.

As he did so, villagers puttering around the tavern entrance gasped in shock as a vampire stepped through a rip in the fabric of space. A mother grabbed her two children and quickly began herding them away. A fruit vendor shouted in horror and ran to get some guards. But Alucard paid no attention to them, charging for the tavern door like a force unto himself.

How dare Trevor Belmont not accept his invitation.

\-------

Once again, Trevor was staring into the bottom of an empty mug. He slammed it onto the table a little clumsily, cheeks flushed pink. He slovenly pushed the mug across the counter, “Another.”

The bartender gave him a look of scorn.

Trevor mustered a smile, “Please?”

The bartender rolled his eyes and took Trevor’s mug, turning away to fill it from a keg behind the counter.

Two men sat at the opposite end of the bar and Trevor couldn’t help but hear them whispering; “I heard his army’s back. The army of the night.”

“Dracula’s army?”

“The very one.” The middle aged man took a hearty swig from his mug before placing it down with a sigh of despair, “I thought he was dead.”

“Vampires don't die.”

“They say some anti-dracula, Alucard, lopped off his head or somethin."

"Ha! Load of horseshit. Haven’t you noticed ‘Alucard’ is just ‘Dracula’ backwards. I’ve heard my idiot son comes up with better names than that!”

Trevor stiffened, heat filling his chest. He wanted to correct them. He wanted to tell them off. But… It wasn’t his problem anymore.

“Your drink.” The bartender gave him a full mug, thank god.

Trevor drank from it hungrily, hoping he would be drunk enough soon to become deaf and blind to the damn world already.

Suddenly there were shouts and screams from outside the tavern. Out of the corner of his eye, Trevor noticed people turning to look.

Nope. Trevor continued chugging his drink. He did _not_ care. He was _not_ going to look. He was going to enjoy his damn drink and _not_ bother.

He heard the tavern door behind him swing open. The other men at the bar jumped to their feet with gasps of horror.

Trevor just continued gulping his drink down. He. Did. Not. Care.

He could hear footsteps pounding toward him. The tavern guests bolted. Trevor finished his drink. He slammed it on the counter and looked at the bartender, “Hey- Could I have some-more…” He slurred, but the bartender was looking past him in terror and soon was running too.

“Rude.” Trevor mumbled, pushing himself away from the counter to pour himself another when someone grabbed him by the back of his head, sharp nails digging into his scalp.

“Ow!” He griped as Alucard wrenched his head back, forcing Trevor to look him in the eye. Trevor’s heart pounded; it was nothing like seeing Alucard’s image from the hole in the wall. Here, in the flesh, there was something about Alucard’s inhuman beauty that was positively frightening. Especially when the vampire bared his teeth, “It is rude not to accept someone’s invitation.” Alucard said.

Trevor just smiled back at him, “Since when was I a man of polite society?” Then he frowned, noticing Dracula’s cloak, “What are you wearing?”

Alucard took a fistfull of Trevor’s cloak, identical to the one he wore, “And you? Still wearing this thing like a war trophy?”

“Chrissake… Let go’a me.” Trevor tried to shake him off, but Alucard pulled him to his feet and spun him around so they were facing each other. Trevor swayed, unbalanced and miserably drunk. He grabbed the counter behind him to keep himself steady before giving Alucard a dirty look, “You lookin for a fight, vampire?” He said in an awfully bold tone for someone who could hardly keep himself upright.

Alucard nearly rolled his eyes, “I was starting to think my memory had deceived me… But you really _are_ as stupid as I remember.”

With that, Trevor took a swing at him. It was in surprisingly good form for someone as intoxicated as he was but Alucard was one step ahead. The vampire dodged Trevor’s attack and responded by kneeing him in the crotch.

Trevor gasped and doubled over, “I thought you had more class than that!”

“We are in a tavern and you are drunk.” Alucard’s lip actually twitched into a smile, “ _This_ is a bar fight.”

Trevor smirked, “So it is, then.” He swiped his empty mug from off the counter and clocked Alucard over the head with it. Alucard stumbled over, crashing into one of the tables while Trevor took the offensive, swinging another fist at him. Alucard grabbed it and used Trevor’s momentum to send him into the table before kicking out his legs from under him. 

Trevor knocked his face against the table on his way to the floor. He groaned, rolling over onto his back, tasting blood in his mouth. Alucard's shadow towered over him and Trevor decided there was definitely something more frightening about Alucard than he had remembered.

“Pathetic.” Alucard spat. He reached down to grab Trevor by the cloak but stopped when Trevor’s hand instinctively reached for the Morning Star. He didn’t mean to, it was a gut reaction, but Trevor noticed that the gesture made Alucard freeze. Trevor laughed, "Afraid I might use this on you?"

But he stopped laughing when he realized Alucard was stricken with panic. It was written all over his face plain as day. It was a surprising amount of emotion for the sulky vampire, "Whoa…" Trevor exhaled, "You know that was just a joke- EURGH!"

Alucard yanked him by the shirt collar, cutting off his windpipe, and dragged him across the floor. Despite that he was choking, Trevor still somehow managed to be annoyingly vocal, "Help!" He rasped as Alucard dragged him out of the tavern. 

A small group of villagers had gathered around the portal, curiously looking at a nervous Sypha who waved back at the strangers awkwardly. But everyone jumped back when Alucard reappeared, his hostage kicking and howling behind him: "Help! Help! He's going to bite me!" Trevor whined, "He'll turn me into a desperately moody vampire just like him that can never tan!!"

"Shut up, Belmont." Alucard growled before stepping back through the mirror.

The sky was replaced by the ceiling of the library, and as soon as Trevor’s feet had safely passed through the mirror, the image of the tavern disappeared and the mirror itself dissipated, returning to reflective shards that floated around the empty space like leaves being carried on the wind. It was so much quieter here, uncomfortably so.

God Trevor hated magic. He hated magic, he hated silence, and he really did not want to be here.

Alucard tossed Trevor to Sypha's feet. Trevor sheepishly looked up at her and she glared back down at him. It had been almost a month since they had last seen each other, and it was clear to Trevor that despite pretending he no longer had feelings for her… He most certainly still did.

She gave him a look of disgust before turning up her nose at him, "Alright, Alucard, now you have him. Are you happy?"

"He's drunk." Alucard stated the plainly obvious, "And he stinks."

Sypha just shrugged, "Were you expecting something different?"

Trevor groaned from the floor, "I'm right here, you know!"

Alucard moved to the library exit, "I will draw a bath for him. I have already prepared a room for both of you in anticipation of your arrival… Though I guess you might be staying in separate rooms?”

Trevor almost winced; it stung to hear it put that way, made worse by the fact that Alucard could just _gloat_ in it! The pouty Prince of darkness was always a bit prickly about Sypha ‘getting too distracted’ by her feelings for Trevor.

Alucard continued addressing Sypha: “I will take care of him. Can you see yourself to your room?”

Sypha nodded, "There are some twists and turns I don't remember so well but I’m pretty sure I remember where to find the guest rooms."

Trevor muttered, "Yes. You have an _excellent_ sense of direction." Just one of the annoying things she wouldn't shut up about. Then Alucard suddenly appeared next to him and forced him to his feet again. Trevor groaned, stumbling back as his legs went weak, “Ugggh… Alucard. Can’t say I don’t I like it rough but all of this tossing around is making me sick to my stomach."

"Good." Alucard forced him to walk, "You have already made me sick to mine."

\------

When was the last time Trevor had a hot bath? Okay, honestly one could ask when was the last time he had _bathed_ at all. Not only was the opportunity to bathe hard to come by but a _hot bath_ was a true luxury.

The bathroom was beautifully ornate, as if the entire room was constructed to maximize pleasure, with titillating decor, gentle lighting, and intoxicating perfumes. Copper pipes hummed and hissed as Alucard leaned over a claw-foot metal tub and turned on the spigots. Technology the vampire claimed was "ancient" but was truly futuristic as far as Trevor was concerned. Puffs of steam wafted up from the bath directly into the Alucard's face but his skin remained cold as ice. As the bath began filling, Alucard curled back into his cloak and moved away, as if he was trying to hide from the warmth.

Trevor gave him a cheeky smile, "You spoil me."

Alucard responded with a tired look, suggesting he was already done with Trevor’s sarcasm. Weirdly Trevor found that he kind of missed teasing Alucard. Damn near warmed his heart.

"I am not spoiling you." Alucard clarified haughtily before pointing a sharp finger to the tub, " _This_ is a necessity, or else your stench might suffocate us all, you filthy mongrel." The vampire's lips twitched into the slightest smile.

Trevor could guess that Alucard missed teasing him too.

Trevor stepped forward, peeling off his shirt and Alucard quickly averted his gaze. The vampire floated past him like a shadow, making a beeline for the door. Trevor was a _little_ surprised. They had first met Alucard completely shirtless, for God's sake, and after traveling with him from Gresit to the Belmont estate, Trevor had quickly learned Alucard was not at all prude. The god damn demon prince had no problem whatsoever parading himself around like he was a goddess.

Trevor hated it. Sypha loved it.

"Where you going?" Trevor asked, "I thought you were babysitting me."

Alucard paused at the door and looked back over his shoulder, "Are asking me to watch you bathe, Trevor Belmont?"

Trevor laughed, "Ha! No. I just thought maybe we could talk."

Alucard turned back to him. Trevor noticed how he hid his entire body under one of Dracula's cloaks. He stood like a phantom at the door; "You and I have never been good conversation partners." Alucard reminded him.

"True… But I could use the company." Trevor peeled off his pants and Alucard just… stared. Trevor expected a joke at least about his ‘tiny dick’ or _something_ , but Alucard remained entirely stoic and humorless. Trevor waved a hand at his junk, raising a brow, “Not gonna say anything?”

Alucard cringed, gritting his teeth, “You truly _are_ a mongrel.”

“Heh.” Trevor turned away to climb into the bath, “Good to know it’s still you and not your father wearing your skin… or something like that.”

“My father is dead.” Alucard reminded him flatly.

Trevor hissed, his toes making contact with the hot water, “Yeah, well, you’d be surprised.” He said stiffly before sinking into the water. A groan of pleasure left his lips followed by a, "Fuccckkkkk…." He relaxed his head against the rim of the tub in pure ecstasy. He was drunk and euphoric and this was absolutely _amazing._

Alucard, on the other hand, was stiff as a board, gripping the handle to the door so tightly he might as well have carved the indent of his fingers into it, “I’d be surprised?” He repeated.

Trevor's half-lidded eyes lulled their way back to Alucard, “Can we talk about that when I’m sober?”

“You are the one who brought it up.”

Trevor lifted his glistening sudsy arms up from the bath in defeat, “I’m drunk! I say all sorts of things I don’t mean to when I’m drunk.”

“And yet you insist on drinking anyway. You really are as stupid as I remember.”

But Trevor just smiled at him, “I love you too, Alucard.”

And with that Alucard turned his back on him, “How you were able to charm Sypha is beyond me, you complete imbecile.” He left the room.Trevor leaned back into the tub, looking up into the ceiling with a frown. There was definitely _something_ off about Alucard… But Trevor just couldn’t put his finger on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :) Will hopefully post Chapter 3 by next Monday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alucard explains why he called Trevor and Sypha back to Dracula's castle, and the threat is far more serious than what happened at Lindenfield. However both Trevor and Sypha are finding it hard to trust their old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies! Posting this a day late! I apologise  
> too because I haven't had the proper chmce to edit this draft yet but I just wanted to get it out there. I'll comb through it to make grammar tweaks and small stylistic changes when I'm more awake. Please enjoy for now!

_"I know what you are."_

_"And what am I?"_

_"You're a vampire."_

\-----

Trevor hissed, his toes making contact with the hot water. He sunk into the bath, a groan of pleasure left his lips followed by a, "Fuccckkkkk…" He relaxed his head against the rim of the tub in pure ecstasy.

Alucard watched, stiff as a board, gripping the handle to the door so tightly he might as well have carved the indent of his fingers… His mouth was dry, and his fangs felt particularly sharp against his tongue. His eyes devoured Trevor’s bare skin… The door handle was the only thing keeping Alucard from launching across the room and having his way.

The vampire wet his lips; “I’d be surprised?” He managed to say, trying to carry the conversation as if he _wasn’t_ losing it.

Trevor's half-lidded eyes lulled their way back to Alucard which only made him more furious. Trevor was so drunk… So ripe for the taking. Sighing and moaning like that. So full of blood… Trevor opened his wet mouth, “Can we talk about that when I’m sober?”

Alucard gritted his teeth, “You are the one who brought it up.”

Trevor lifted his glistening sudsy arms and Alucard fixated on them. It was like waving a steak in front of a hungry tiger. Involuntarily, a vampiric hiss escaped from his throat and his eyes curdled red; How would Trevor’s skin pop under his teeth? How would that disgusting alcoholic’s blood taste on his tongue?

“I’m drunk!” Trevor slurred, “I say all sorts of things I don’t mean to when I’m drunk.”

“And yet…” Alucard’s grip on the door loosened. His entire body was leaning in toward Trevor. His lungs filled with air and his nails began to grow, “...you insist on drinking anyway. You really are as stupid as I remember...” He took a step toward Trevor...

Then stopped.

Trevor was suddenly looking at him. Alucard’s heart jumped into his mouth. Trevor smiled at him. It was disarming… friendly… warm: “I love you too, Alucard.”

It was a joke. It was sarcasm. But it made Alucard’s chest twist. The vampire turned his back on his friend, returning to the door like it was his lifeline. What was happening to him? Was he really seriously considering drinking from Trevor!? Since when did he ever have such little control?

“How you were able to charm Sypha is beyond me, you complete imbecile.” He growled as he quickly exited the room and started down the hall. 

Alucard knew he should stay. He knew he should show Trevor to his room when he was done bathing… But he also knew that if he stayed a moment longer the man’s blood might end up all over the walls.

\-------

The only thing more disconcerting than sleeping alone in a giant empty castle, was sleeping alone in a giant empty castle that you knew two other people were in.

Or maybe… That should have been comforting. Perhaps Alucard should have felt safer knowing he wasn’t completely alone anymore, but he was plagued all night with nightmares of demons crawling under his bedsheets, writhing all over his body, and shoving their fleshy fingers down his throat, making him choke.

Worse yet were the dreams of Sumi and Taka…

His _reward_.

He could still feel their hands and tongues between his legs. He could still feel Sumi's mouth on his neck and Taka inside of him. Only now in the dreams it was Trevor and Sypha… Sypha's breasts against his chest, mouth by his ear, giggling darkly. Trevor between his legs, looking down at him with a malicious grin, crackling the Morning Star in his naked fists:

_"Afraid I might use that on you?"_

_"... Vampire…"_

Alucard woke with a start. Though it wasn't really "waking" since he had hardly even fallen asleep. His room was empty. No demons. No Sumi and Taka. No Trevor and Sypha. He was alone but this yielded him no comfort...

He saw the teardrops before he realized he was crying - bright red spots of blood staining another pillow. He was really trying not to cry. He had cried so much his eyes were strained from the effort of it. Long ago his human tears had given way to blood, as if all the water in his body had been spent. His physical form couldn’t keep up with his mental anguish. And there was no right answer! The loneliness was suffocating, but having them here? Now? It somehow made things worse!

He put his head in his hands and gave into another pitiful crying fit. He hated how often he fell apart. Part of him wanted to just give in already, let the madness take him…

But he couldn't...

_"Don't hurt them! They don't understand!!"_

_"Be better than them, please!"_

Alucard stared into his blood soaked hands. The scene of his mother burning at the stake yet crying out to him was oddly grounding… Despite what was happening to her in that very moment, she begged him not to blame those who killed her.

To be better.

That was when the door creaked open, “Adrian?” A gentle voice spoke.

It was Sypha standing in the door. Alucard knew he was dreaming, so he didn’t care to stop her. She approached the bed and he felt her weight press into the mattress next to him as she sat down, placing a comforting hand to his back. She leaned over him, her hot breath tickling his ear as she whispered, “No one will hurt you ever again.” And kissed him on the cheek.

Then there were strong arms wrapping around his chest from behind, pulling him in close. Trevor’s undeniable musky scent. The man was like a bear, enveloping the quivering, chilly Alucard up into his body, squeezing him tight so he couldn’t tremble anymore. It gave him, for the first time in over a year, an incredible sense of peace.

Finally comforted by his own dream, he was able to get some sleep.

\-----------

Trevor slept pretty well too, until he was rudely awakened.

“Get up!” Sypha barked right into his vulnerable ear.

Trevor cringed and tried to hide under his pillow, “Do you ever sleep?” He grumbled.

She yanked the blankets off of him, “I am tired of trying to find the patience for your hangovers.” 

“You had a whole month to find the patience again...”

“And it wasn’t long enough.”

She marched over to a waist-height dresser where Trevor noticed his clothes had been cleaned and folded neatly. She picked up the garments and tossed them at him, “Get dressed. I need to show you something before he wakes up.”

Trevor sat up and gave her a frown, “You mean Alucard?”

Sypha bit her lip and twirled her hair with an anxious finger. There was something making her nervous, maybe even a little scared. Trevor complied, “Okay.” He sighed, picking up a shirt, “What is it you need to show me?”

\---------

“Well… Fuck.”

Two rotting corpses propped upright on spikes gaped in quiet terror toward the sky. As Trevor and Sypha stood there, a rotten piece of flesh slipped off of one and splattered to the ground with a squish.

Sypha waved her hand at them, “Do you see what I mean? What happened!? Why would he do this??”

Trevor folded his arms and yawned, “He’s a vampire. He’s the son of Dracula. He’s a morose drama queen. Is this really that surprising?”

Sypha looked at him pleadingly, “Don’t you remember what you told him? He said this castle would be his grave but you told him otherwise. You told him to share this-” She waved at the castle, then behind them toward the Belmont estate, “- _All_ of this with the world. All of this knowledge that can save people’s lives. That can help people!”

“Back when I thought I cared.”

“You do care, Trevor Belmont.”

He cringed and looked away from her.

Sypha was heartbroken. Having a month apart did help her reconcile many of her frustrations with him. It didn’t mean she was ready to enter a relationship with him again, but it did mean she was a little more sympathetic to his hurt. And so she pressed him, actually lifting her hands and placing them on his arm, “Trevor… Even if you do not care for the people in the world all of this technology and knowledge can save… Surely you care for Alucard. Are you really not worried about him? It is obvious something serious is happening to him. Some reason why he called us here...”

He blushed a little but still refused to look at her.

Then a third voice spoke up: “Is there a problem?”

The two of them jumped when Alucard himself appeared from the woods, a basket in hand. He looked at them, at the corpses, back to them.

He said nothing.

Sypha gave him a nervous smile, “Oh ah- G-Good morning, Alucard.” She put her hands up defensively, “No! No of course there is no problem. Not any problems here!” She elbowed Trevor, encouraging him to join along. He groaned, relenting to Sypha, “Yeah uh. Everything is… Fine.”

Alucard’s icey gaze looked to the corpses once more before he lowered his head and glided between them, cloak pulling at the grass behind him, “Good.” He said darkly before disappearing through the double doors.

Sypha and Trevor looked at each other nervously, then quickly followed behind him.

Once inside, the trio made their way across the grand foyer, the Speaker and Hunter visibly uneasy. It was as if they were both suddenly aware that they were in the presence of an actual vampire. A powerful one, at that, who could easily subdue either of them and suck them dry.

Sypha cleared her throat, “So uh… Just a small question. Why do you have two dead bodies on spikes outside your front door?”

Alucard did not slow his step. He did not look back. “It’s a deterrent. Should any other _rats_ come sniffing around for looking something to eat.”

Sypha and Trevor looked at each other again, both wondering what that could mean. Sypha cleared her throat, “But Adrian…” She tried, still using a careful tone, “Didn’t Trevor give you the Belmont hold under the pretense that you would share it with others?” She elbowed Trevor again, but he wasn’t sure what to say; “I uh- Yeah I… Guess that is what I said.”

Alucard stopped. Sypha and Trevor proceeded to freeze. The vampire slowly looked back at Trevor over his shoulder, his gaze like needles: “Does that mean you want to take the estate back, Belmont?”

A stiff silence passed between them. Sypha looked at Trevor expectantly, hoping this would prompt him to finally do something. But Trevor folded his arms and looked aside, “No.”

Alucard began walking again. Sypha’s look of disappointment was so incredibly frustrating Trevor rolled his eyes. He was not going to be the man she wanted him to be so why did she keep expecting better?

Alucard led them into the kitchen, a decidedly brighter and less menacing space compared to the rest of the castle. Alucard stood out dramatically, his dark cloak in stark contrast to the cheerful mood of the kitchen. He dropped the basket onto a counter and plucked a bright red apple from it. Sypha and Trevor looked at the apples warily, both reminded of a certain apple tree in Lindenfeld… An awkward silence filled the air until finally Alucard spoke, “I suspect you two are hungry?” 

A sharp knife glinted in his boney fingers before making contact with one of the scarlet fruits and slicing it through with a firm chop. Trevor gulped loudly, prompting Sypha to elbow him again. Then she smiled at Alucard, “Yes, we could both do for a meal. Do you need any help?”

*CHOP* “No.”

Alucard dropped the cut apples onto a plate with thick slices of bread, a jar of butter, and other nuts, fruits, and vegetables he had foraged. He brought the plate over to the table for them before turning away to get himself a drink. Sypha and Trevor nervously took their seats. Sypha picked at the food, while Trevor looked around. The kitchen was fresh and clean and light spilled in from the windows giving the space a homey feel. It was clearly newer, compared to the rest of the castle, and Trevor realized Dracula might not have had a need for a kitchen. It was possible this space was built for Alucard’s mother… 

His chest tightened, feelings welling up. He didn’t want to care. He was trying so hard not to care. That was when he spotted two dolls propped up on a shelf. They looked an awful lot like- “Is that us?” He blurted out, pointing at them.

Alucard stiffened. He looked at the dolls, “I meant to move those.” He poured himself a glass of something red from a decanter before sitting with them at the table.

“That is pretty fucking weird.”

“I have a lot of time.” Alucard said, “Some might say too much time.” The vampire brought the glass to his lips to take a sip but paused, noticing how his guests eyeballed the drink suspiciously, “It’s wine.” He said, annoyed.

“HA! OF COURSE!” Sypha laughed nervously, waving her hand, “O-of course it’s wine! PFFT! What else would it be? Ha ha!” Then she shoved a handful of bread into her mouth, as if he was trying to stop herself from saying anything stupid. She pointed at the plate, looking to Alucard; “Are you going to eat anything?”

“I am not feeling hungry.”

Trevor: “Got any beer?”

Sypha: “That’s not breakfast!”

Trevor pointed at Alucard’s wine glass, “But wine is!?”

“I was going to scold him too before you interrupted!”

Alucard gingerly placed the glass down and closed his eyes, “I appreciate your concern, Sypha, but I do not require food in the same way you do.”

Trevor frowned, “Bullshit. You’re half human.”

Alucard’s eyebrow twitched. He stared daggers into Trevor who stared back with an equal amount of venom. Trevor was challenging him, forcing a reaction. Sypha looked at the silent battle between the two. It was uncomfortable, yes, but it was finally working. Trevor was _doing something._

But Alucard’s wall of ice remained impenetrable. As poised as ever, he delicately lifted his drink in his thin fingers, sharp nails tittering against the glass, “I have often wondered, is it truly half?” He mused, “Or do both halves compete for more or less control…? Sometimes more human...” His eyes fell on Trevor in an oddly sinister way, “Sometimes... less…”

The way Alucard was looking at Trevor put Sypha on edge, but Trevor either did not notice or did not care. He was pissed! He did not appreciate Alucard speaking in damn riddles and he was done being given the runaround, “Why are we here?” Trevor demanded, “I didn’t even have a choice, you dragged my ass across the country to be here, so what is it?”

Silence again from the vampire. Trevor was leaning into him, demanding he say something. Finally, Alucard rose to his feet, “Finish eating. Then come to the library. I will show you.” He crossed the kitchen and left.

Trevor rolled his eyes, grabbing a fistful of bread and shoving it into his mouth, “I’m afraid we won’t be getting any answers from him, Sypha.”

Sypha wondered if he noticed. Did Trevor notice how much Alucard ignited the fire in him? Without even trying, there was something about the vampire that made Trevor come alive. Or maybe it was just stubbornness matched with Alucard's equal stubbornness.

She took the wine glass Alucard left behind gave it a whiff, “All we can do is keep trying. I hope maybe we can learn more in the library…”

Trevor smirked as she sniffed at the wine, “Don’t trust him?”

Sypha put the glass back down with a defeated sigh, “I don’t know how to trust anything anymore. I just need… to be sure.”

“Sure he won’t sink his fangs into you?” Trevor tapped his chin curiously, “I wonder if he ever has bitten someone before? Those kids out front didn’t look like they had been bitten…”

“Oh god. Can we please not talk about the corpses?"

“Okay, okay.” Trevor conceded. He returned to eating. After a moment of quiet, Sypha said gently, “As annoying as you are, Trevor, it is nice to see you again.”

He blushed, just a little, and acted like his mouth was too full to say anything in response. Sypha felt a little spark of hope. Maybe Trevor wasn’t completely lost after all.

\--------

The library was dark when Trevor and Sypha walked in. Trevor grumbled, flicking a switch to activate special electrical lighting which quickly illuminated the room, “We are not night creatures. We need to be able to see where we are going.”

The light illuminated Alucard standing in front of the magic mirror with his arm outstretched to it, reaching for his own reflection. In that flicker of an instant Trevor could have sworn he saw a bright red scar snaking down the vampire’s exposed forearm before Alucard quickly withdrew his hand, hiding it within the folds of his cloak.

It knocked the wind out of Trevor. What was that? Was Alucard hurt-

WHACK! Sypha clocked him over the back of the head.

“Ow!” Trevor yowled.

“Stop being so rude.” She criticized him, before becoming all sweet and gentle with Alucard again, “Please excuse him, he does not speak for both of us-”

Trevor gasped, “And you do?”

“-What is it you need to show us?”

Alucard gave them both a look, as if contemplating their relationship. Trevor could sense it; even when they were fighting it was still clear he and Sypha were intimate in a way that Alucard simply wasn’t. Maybe never could be. Like an outsider always looking in.

The vampire turned to the mirror again and with a swish of his hand an image was revealed. A snow storm pelted a frozen castle that was crawling with night creatures. At the gate were three bodies on spikes, not too dissimilar from the decorations in Alucard’s front lawn. Only these corpses belonged to vampires. Trevor recognized one of them, “Carmilla?” He said with a bit of amazement.

Alucard explained, “My father’s army still marches… Under the command of his most beloved General, Isaac.”

Sypha bit her lip, “Isaac?” She went pale and looked to Trevor, "The night creature at Lindenfeld… There was something mentioned about an Isaac."

Alucard looked back at her curiously, "Lindenfield?"

Sypha 0and Trevor both became sullen, gazing out into opposite directions. Alucard waited until finally Trevor offered him some kind of explanation, "We uh… had a bad run in with a night creature there…"

"A 'bad run in'?"

Sypha glared off into the library, "A night creature was captured there and used to open a gate to Hell."

"Trying to revive _your_ father." Trevor added accusingly.

Alucard did not appreciate his tone…

"The night creature almost succeeded," Sypha continued, "But we were able to close it. Unfortunately…" There was a long pause, as if saying it aloud would make it happen all over again, "... The town was lost."

The two looked broken, more broken than Alucard had ever seen them. He gave it a moment, allowing it to sink in before saying gently, "I'm sorry…"

Sypha wiped at her eye. Trevor ground his teeth and clenched his fists.

Alucard watched them sadly, "I'm sorry that happened."

Neither of them could look at him. Alucard wasn't really sure what to say. Emotions were never something he was good at it. So instead he returned back to the problem at hand, frowning into the snowy fortress at Styria with heightened concern, "That means this is more serious than I thought. Isaac is a human forgemaster. He was not here when we stormed the castle, and he has continued to carry out my father’s dream of humanity’s extermination.”

Trevor’s gut was sinking. Sypha, too, looked considerably more pale. Sypha wet her lips, “A forgemaster?” She asked nervously.

This time Trevor offered an explanation, “Forgemasters can return corpses from the dead by imbuing them with the soul of a demon from hell.”

Alucard nodded, then pointed at a lizard-like night creature slithering up one of the castle’s tall towers, “It appears he has been growing an army of these creatures, one that has been increasing exponentially as he takes one kingdom after another...”

The mirror flicked through scene after scene of the forsaken castle; demonic creatures crawling around inside and out, feasting on corpses both human and undead. It was hideous and terrifying all at once.

“I have reason to believe he has a mirror like this one." Alucard gestured to it, "One which is larger that he can use to transport his armies… Anywhere.”

Sypha’s small voice expressed what Trevor was too afraid to say, “Including… here?”

Alucard looked back to her and gave her a solemn nod. Sypha and Trevor were both silent as they took it all in. Neither of them were sure they were ready for such an undertaking after what happened at Lindenfeld… Neither of them was sure how to express their concerns to Alucard, who was clearly in danger. But… the heat was growing in Trevor's chest. He was suddenly more aware of the weight of the Morning Star hanging on his belt. His fingers twitched as that familiar feeling of excitement, anger, and fear filled him.

_"Do you care, Belmont?"_

_"Honestly, I didn't, no. But now…"_

Trevor locked eyes with Alucard. He was mad; mad that Alucard could inspire him so much! Was it just his stubbornness? Was part of him just too proud to let Alucard see him act like a coward? Like a lucky drunk? Was this all because he wanted to prove the snotty vampire prince wrong?

Or was it something more?

_"...noble warrior..."_

But… Then something occurred to Trevor: “Is this really what you called us here for?”

Sypha frowned, “Trevor?”

Trevor drilled his gaze into Alucard, “Think about it. He called us a month ago and clearly didn’t know how to work this magic mirror.”

“That doesn’t mean anything." Sypha argued, "He still could have been monitoring this situation by other means before contacting us. And clearly he could use it well enough to find us!”

Then Trevor pointed past Alucard at the three dead vampires on stakes outside of the castle in the reflection behind him, “Those corpses are fresh, Sypha. They weren’t killed a month ago, not like the two sorry victims propped up outside of this castle.”

“Trevor.” Sypha hissed.

But Trevor pressed on, “Is this really why you called us here, Alucard?”

Alucard said nothing, looking at Trevor with that same cold expression he always did. Trevor glared at him, silently demanding he talk. And Alucard looked back with a complete blank face. Trevor tried desperately to read anything, to gain any insight into Alucard’s intentions, but found he came up with nothing.

Finally Alucard looked away from both of them, “Regardless of why I contacted you a month ago, this is the reality of the situation _now_. I am asking for your help, as I have no one else to ask.” Then he moved to leave, “I will leave the decision up to you.” He left the library.

As the door closed, Trevor threw up his hands, “Why does he keep walking out on us like that?”

Sypha pointed an accusing finger into his chest, “Why do you keep questioning his intentions!?”

“Because they are suspicious!” Trevor shot back, “Are you really prepared to go into a fight like this, Sypha. After Lindenfield?”

She withdrew her hand, folding her arms like a sudden chill had passed over her, “I don’t know…” She admitted;

“I don’t know…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor decides he's not going to stay, but he agrees to spend one last night with Sypha... And avoids Alucard.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Trevor uncovered a rather impressive wine cellar in the depths of Dracula’s castle. It wasn't beer but it would do. Sypha spent the rest of the day outside (far from the dead bodies) sparring with an invisible combatant. Both Belnades and Belmont were meditating on the decision in their own unique ways.

Eventually the sun began drawing low in the sky. Breathing hard, Sypha ended her exercise and decided to tend to her horse, which was housed in a stable that used to be part of the Belmont estate. As she climbed into the cart to grab some feed, she heard someone crunching through the grass toward her. It was Trevor with a bottle in hand looking as if he had just got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

Sypha frowned, “You came here to leave, didn’t you?”

Trevor looked at the ground, guilty. Sypha put her hands on her hips, “And you were going to steal my horse!?”

Trevor threw up his hands defensively, the half drunk bottle of wine sloshing loudly, “Alucard pulled me through a magic mirror! Do I have any other way of leaving?”

Sypha tapped her foot impatiently, “You could ask him to drop you off somewhere.”

Trevor set his jaw, knowing that wasn’t a possibility. How would he ever face Alucard and tell him he wasn’t going to help and, oh, could you drop me off outside a tavern miles and miles away from here and your problems? That would sure be swell!

“And besides,” Sypha waved her hand at the wagon full of her things, “What if I wanted to use this horse and wagon that I hired!?”

Trevor sighed, “Please, Sypha, you and I both know you aren’t leaving.”

She huffed and said nothing; it was true after all. She was going to stay and help Alucard. 

Trevor took a drink from his bottle. Sypha watched with disappointment. He wiped his mouth, annoyed that she could lecture him with only a look. He knew he was a miserable mess of a person, and the sooner he got away from these people the sooner he could stop feeling so ashamed about it.

Sypha hopped down from the wagon and approached him. Trevor took a step back away from her but bumped into a tree. He was trapped. She came right up to him. She gently touched his hand holding the bottle, lowering it, and looked up into his eyes. Trevor swallowed hard, falling head over heels into those big blue eyes.

“I regret…” She started, “...Not giving you a proper goodbye before.” Her fingers traced the hem of his sleeve, “I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

Stupid lizard brain. His body was reacting to her touch against his will. He forced his eyes away from her, looking out toward the setting sun and encroaching twilight. It was true it wasn’t the best time of day to leave…

Sypha took his chin and gently guided his face back to her. He didn't say anything but the words were written all over his face. How someone as strong as Trevor could at times look so vulnerable.

“I know I can’t make you stay.” Sypha said, “But… Maybe I can convince you to stay for one last night?” She asked hopefully.

He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, relishing in the way she smelled, feeling her breath against his lips...

His chest rumbled, “Just one night…”

\------

If this was the last time they made love, it had to count. All resentment, anger, and any other negative feelings were pushed aside. This would be one last night to enjoy each other… And in one of the finest beds all of Wallachia had to offer, no less. Not some prickly straw stuffed mattress or chunky bedroll. A proper down mattress with plush blankets and sheets. Skin sliding against soft clouds, Trevor caressing Sypha beneath him like she was a pillow herself.

Trevor hated how much he couldn’t help himself; his body always working against him, revealing his desires. He exhaled hot breath over her like a dragon over its hoard, unable to keep his body from voicing his pleasure and she smiled like she always did. His callused fingers were as rough as sandpaper, and yet he was always so gentle. He touched Sypha like he was handling a porcelain tea set, his fingers running over her curves and twirling up into her hair. They pressed their bodies together, as if there wasn’t enough skin to touch. As if, if they pressed hard enough, they could conjoin into one writhing lustful being of pure pleasure.

With his lips against her neck, he whispered, “I want to taste you…” And she wordlessly complied. His lips found their way down her nape... and stomach... until his hot breath and tongue found its way into her.

Sypha cried out, “Ah! You are worse than a devil.” Then she laughed.

God he loved the way she laughed.

He chuckled between her legs, "Worse than a vampire?"

"Worse than a vampire."

She tasted sweeter than wine and as crisp as smoked firewood… And when he was done he lifted her slender legs over his shoulders then smirked, "Better than beer.~"

Sypha put her hand over her face and groaned, "You're not funny." But she smiled, "Stop making jokes.”

Trevor grinned, eager to please.

\---------

Of course Alucard knew what they were doing. He couldn’t hear them, couldn’t see them, but their heartbeats were like a vibration sliding along the walls of the empty castle. So silent, even the slightest skitter of a rat could be heard at the opposite end of the palace. Or… So he thought. Maybe it was the madness inside of him, the wicked jealousy that warped all of his thoughts against him.

He hated it.

He stood in front of that forsaken mirror, glaring at his own reflection. Hating them. Hating himself.

He looked at his hands, the sharp nails of vampirism becoming more prominent with each passing day.

Dracula and Lisa.... Didn’t they know what they were doing when they gave birth to such a creature? Neither human nor beast. Tethered between two worlds, never finding peace in one or the other.

He took a deep breath before asking the mirror to once again reveal Styria. He was trying to focus on that. Concentrate on the problem at hand.

Don’t think about them having sex.

\---------

Trevor awoke, still entangled in Sypha. Still covered in her smell. 

The room was illuminated by a gentle morning sun caressing them from the window. It was the first time in a while that he woke up without a hangover. The first time in a while he woke up with Sypha’s fingers still tangled in his hair.

He pushed himself up on his forearms and she remained blissfully asleep. He stared down at her for a good moment, memorizing her face before he left her forever. Part of him wanted to apologize. To break down in front of her and tell her he was sorry he couldn’t be a better man, a better person… 

But he wouldn’t.

He carefully slipped from the bed and quietly got dressed… Gathered his things…

\-------

He moved quietly throughout the castle, almost forgetting that Alucard was hiding somewhere in there too. He knew Sypha would explain and, frankly, he didn’t want to face Alucard. This was all behind him now…

He pushed open the door in the grand foyer of the castle and paused, looking sadly at the two corpses that were considerably more skeletal now. Even the flies were losing interest in them, buzzing further afield for some other wretched thing to feast on. Trevor shook his head and took a step out into the light-

“You’re leaving then?”

It was Alucard, standing in the darkness behind him. The vampire was glaring at him, only his head visible in the shadows - the cloak nearly swallowed him whole.

“Ah fuck…” Trevor pushed his hair back from his face, “I was kind of hoping I wouldn’t run into you.” He laughed nervously, waiting for Alucard to respond with something sassy.

But he didn't.

Alucard just looked back at him with that sharp gaze, before looking aside, contemplative. Trevor waited for something… Anything…

But there was nothing.

Trevor opened his hands, "Not gonna flip me off, or something?"

Alucard's eyes landed on him again and Trevor's chest twisted; it was there, in his eyes, just the faintest hint of hurt. But Alucard simply turned away from him, "You do not seem to think I am even deigned a goodbye, so I will not deign you with one either."

“Alucard-” Trevor started, but stopped when his voice cracked, surprised with himself. Then he blurted out, “What happened to your arm?"

Alucard stopped. He looked back over his shoulder and his eyes narrowed, “What?” He seethed, his sharp canines visible as he hissed. Finally, some kind of reaction. Not quite the one Trevor wanted.

“Your arm.” Trevor repeated, “I saw it. In the library, you’ve been- injured. Or. Something.”

Alucard started walking again, “Goodbye, Trevor Belmont. You will be forever remembered as a coward-" Trevor grabbed him by the wrist. Alucard was ready to slap him across the face when Trevor yanked up his sleeve, exposing the screaming red wound snaking up his forearm.

Alucard’s breath hitched, stiffening under Trevor’s grasp. Trevor continued pushing up the sleeve, trying to find where the wound ended, but it kept going... 

Trevor's mouth went dry. His brow knit together, unable to mask his concern. He recognized the kind of wound silver weapons made. This was no ordinary injury. And only a monster hunter would have such a weapon.

"When did this happen?" Trevor gasped, "Who did this to you?" But Alucard was not ready to talk. The vampire hissed and when Trevor met Alucard's face he nearly tripped over his own feet. Alucard's eyes blazed red, baring his teeth like some kind of animal, "Don't. TOUCH ME!"

Trevor heard the swords whistling through the air before he saw them. Acting fast, he grabbed the Morning Star and was able to whip one out of the air but the other caught his wrist, slicing it open.

Alucard's pupils dilated as Trevor's blood splattered across the floor. Trevor dropped the Morning Star and clutched his bleeding wrist in his hand.

"You said you were leaving!" Alucard shouted, "So leave!" 

Trevor looked at him bewildered. Before him was not the Alucard he thought he knew. When he first saw Dracula, he couldn't see the family resemblance. Alucard was so strangely angelic looking when standing next to his father…

But now.

The same lines of exhaustion were drawing into his skin. He had the same gaunt features of a creature on the brink of starvation. But most similar was the fury, the all consuming rage that shrouded Dracula in a mantel of doom that now seemed to fall over Alucard like a black veil. He glared at Trevor with a crazed look, not at all as calm as he normally was.

Trevor took a step back, then slowly picked up the Morning Star. The swords slid across the floor as Alucard called them back to him, ready to defend himself.

Trevor carefully wrapped up the Morning Star, backing away from Alucard before finally exiting the castle.

The doors slammed shut in his face.

Trevor stood there in a moment of shock. The gray sky rumbled overhead and a gentle breeze carried the faintest smell of rot from behind his head.

_"What is it then? Are you a lucky drunk or a noble warrior?"_

He put a hand to his chest, where his shirt bore the Belmont crest. He clenched his fist.

He was a lucky drunk. That's all.

He turned away from the castle. Turned away from Alucard and Sypha, from his home, from the people he cared about. Turned away one last fucking time, ready to go back to a life of not having to turn away from anything ever again.

\---------

Alucard stood in the grand foyer staring at the shut doors. Everything was in a sheen of red and for a moment he felt… Nothing. Not sadness or anger. Fear or upset.

Nothing.

From somewhere behind him he heard the sound of shuffling feet.

Sypha…

His eyes changed back and his entire form exhaled, all his humanness flowing back into him.

Trevor was gone. His blood still fresh on the floor… Alucard was consumed by guilt. But there was little time to dwell on it. Sypha's feet pattered behind him and he quickly hid his arm back under his sleeve.

"Is he gone?" Sypha caught her breath, hair still mussed, pajamas disheveled. The smell of Trevor all over her.

"He's gone." Alucard said flatly, despite his smell and blood being everywhere.

Alucard clenched his fists, the look of concern on Trevor's face as he looked at the snaked wound burned into Alucard's mind. It was a moment of genuine caring and concern… From a man who said didn't care for anything. From a man who didn't even think Alucard was worth a goodbye.

Alucard turned away with a flourish of his cloak, "He will no longer be a distraction." He growled, returning into the dark pit of his castle.

Sypha and Alucard didn't need the worthless Belmont. They would figure this out without him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, guys that angst is building and building.... When's it gonna break!? ;)
> 
> Apologies! I said I would update weekly on Mondays but LIFE guys! I am staying within a weekly time frame for chapter updates though so bear with me. :)
> 
> Raise you hand if you think Trevor is gonna regret this big time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lenore and Isaac have a conversation. It resolves in some seriously bad news for Alucard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter isn't as exciting and angst filled as the previous, but I hope you can see how it's building to some very significant future conflict ;)

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you."

A scarlet haired vampire sat at the ivory table in one of the tallest towers of the castle at Styria, looking not in the least bit intimidated by Isaac's threat. She smiled in response, “Well, that’s easy…” She waved a hand to the man sitting next to her, Hector. “You came here for him?”

Hector couldn’t even look Isaac in the eye.

The pretty vampire crossed her fingers on the table in front of her, looking diplomatic, “Hector answers to me and seeing as you’ve gone through all of the trouble coming here to find him… Something tells me you don’t just want to kill him. You’re a man of justice. Killing him wouldn’t be enough punishment, would it?”

Isaac looked again at Hector, who still wouldn’t look at him. The vampire poured a red drink from a decanter, one for him, another for her. She was too comfortable.

“You are quick to assume what I want.” Isaac warned her. But then he smiled, “And yet, you are right.”

He took the seat to her left, across from Hector. She passed the drink to him with delicate fingers; it was wine. He lifted the glass and asked, “And how exactly does he answer to you? Why shouldn’t I just kill you and make him answer to me?”

The vampire lifted her glass with one hand and held the other open to him. On her finger was a strange ring of woven red and black bands, “He swore his loyalty to me…" She explained, "You humans might not take loyalty seriously, but it is everything to us vampires. Thanks to this ring, he is completely in my thrall. Betrayal is no longer an option.”

Hector just barely twitched, shuffling in his seat. Isaac noticed this, “Did he agree to this?”

“Of course he did.” The vampire’s eyes wandered toward the door, where two of Isaac’s demonic soldiers stood at attention, “Just as your night creatures have agreed to obey you…”

An interesting thing to say. After all, their ‘loyalty’ wasn’t really a choice. That was clear to Isaac, even. But it was loyalty all the same.

“And what of your sisters?” Isaac continued to prod her, “You are so quick to betray them and work with the man who killed them?”

The girl chuckled, “Who said I am betraying them? On the contrary, we all had an understanding that we would each do what is in our best interests. My sisters are now dead. That leaves me a choice; I can either be a fool and fight against you in some pointless try at vengeance, or I can carry on their legacy by doing what is clearly in my best interest, and that would be working with you, Isaac.”

Isaac couldn’t help but smile. It was frustrating, how much she could spin the story, “Your silver tongue must have saved you from many perilous situations.”

“You would be surprised.” She smiled, taking a sip from her drink. Isaac took a sip from his too; “Forgive me, for I didn’t catch your name?”

“Lenore.” She said before straightening her shoulders, “Now before I swear my allegiance to you, I want to know exactly what it is you have planned for my dear Hector. In return for his loyalty, I promised him his safety.”

“Really? You want to negotiate with me? I could just kill you and take him.”

“But you need him, Isaac. Do you really think you alone can build an army big enough to take over the world?” She held up the ringed finger to him, “With my loyalty, you have his loyalty and one more forgemaster to build your army.”

Isaac shrugged, looking around at the many night creatures he had already forged, “I’ve built a sizeable army already.”

“And I can imagine that was quite exhausting.” Lenore leaned her chin on her hand, “After all, Isaac, despite all of your power, you are still only human.” She waved a hand to Hector, “Allow Hector and I to help you. You know as they say, two forgemasters are better than one.” She winked.

Isaac was quiet, considering this proposition. Hector sat at the table with his head down, less a contributor to the conversation and more like chattel being disputed over. Isaac leaned on his elbows, giving Hector a good look; “And what say he to all of this?” 

Hector looked slowly up to Isaac. It was clear the spark within him had long since died. Mechanically, he responded, “I do as Lenore asks.” Before looking aside; tired. Defeated.

Isaac… Wasn’t sure what to make of that, “That’s not what I asked.” He said more firmly.

Hector remained unphased, “What I want is what Lenore wants.” He said again.

“Hm.” Isaac shook his head, then chuckled, “You’ve taken away all of the fun, Lenore.”

Lenore laughed in response, “I’m sorry. Had I known you’d be coming, I might have done things differently.”

Hector visibly shuttered, again trying to hide it from their view, clearly terrified of this Lenore and what she might do to him. Isaac ignored the obnoxious traitor and returned his attention to Lenore, “What do you get out of an alliance with me then? Your life? Do not play me the fool… You might have been able to trick Hector, but I am not as stupid. You’re just trying to find a way to stay alive until an opportunity comes when you can stab me in the back and take what’s yours.”

Lenore shrugged, “Well, that’s partly true. I would very much like to continue living and at this point working with you is my only option. But...” She leaned back in her chair with her drink, swirling it around in her fingers, “I have never been one to 'stab', as you say. I left the stabbing up to my sisters. And besides, I am interested in this vision of yours.” She took a drink from the glass, then scrutinized it, “I have lived a very… very long time, Isaac. I’m bored.” She put the glass down and gave him her full attention, “I think I’m ready for something different. What you are talking about is a completely new world. Something which we have never seen before.” She pursed her lips, “Hell on Earth. Imagine the possibilities for a vampire queen in such a place? I am eager to see what kind of world you might create, Isaac.”

He knew she was not to be trusted, but Isaac found her cleverness respectable, maybe even useful. And she was right about Hector. Isaac never really had a plan for what he would do when he finally captured Hector. Lenore was ensuring Hector's servitude. That seemed a fitting punishment for betrayal, at least until Isaac thought of something better.

He smirked, deciding to test her, "Prove to me that you are a worthy partner. Tell me something useful. Tell me something I don’t know. If you have considered my plan for world domination then surely you've entertained theories on how to achieve this?"

Lenore smiled, "There are many things you do not know, Isaac." She was bordering insult, but he allowed her to speak, "I have heard rumors that one of your night creatures opened a gate to Hell in an attempt to rescue your beloved Dracula from the dead. Were you aware of this?"

"I… was not." Isaac admitted.

"Do you want to bring Dracula back from the dead?"

Isaac pondered this. He hadn’t even considered it in the realm of possibilities. He gave her an honest answer, "Dracula is the only person I have ever truly loved and respected. My heart longs for him as any heart does for a loved one."

"Well, what ifI told you that you can have Dracula… and more."

"I'm listening."

"Consider this." She gestured to Hector, "We can have our forgemaster here slave away at building an army. It would take a very long time, years even, before you could successfully conquer even half of this world. But imagine, instead of one forgemaster, you had an open gate to Hell where demons could pass through with no restraint."

Isaac chuckled, "Now that is interesting. How does one open such a gate?"

"Well, Isaac, how did you get through our gates here in Styria?"

Not quite a battering ram, but there was enough force from his army to push through. "Okay. So we find a strong enough force to push open the gate?"

Lenore nodded, "That is one way. And that is how your night creature opened the door to Hell in Lindenfeld. If you collect enough souls at once you can use their power to blow through the gate, like using a battering ram to blast through the doors of a castle."

Isaac shrugged, "That doesn't sound too hard."

"No." Lenore had a twinkle in her eye, "But there are easier ways to get through a locked door." She lifted a skeleton key from her lap, "For example, if one has a key."

"And what constitutes a key?"

The brass key in Lenore's fingers caught the light, "Instead of dozens of souls, you only need one. One particular kind of soul. One that is already a doorway between the planes of life and unlife. Tell me, Isaac, who has such a soul?"

A perplexing question. Lenore was certainly dancing around the point, but he liked the way she made him think. Each question a riddle to solve.

He took a guess, "A dying person?"

"Yes, but this is unrefined. It is why you need to kill many to open the door as opposed to one. Think harder, Isaac."

"A pregnant woman."

She smiled, enjoying this game as much as him. Hector was growing increasingly uncomfortable but neither of them cared; "Very good, Isaac. A pregnant woman is a doorway unto herself… delivering souls from one realm to another. A pregnant woman is one such key. But there is another kind of soul even more powerful than that. One that can tear a hole into this plane as big as all of Dracula's castle. Think, Isaac, who do you know is straddled between these realms of life and death?"

Isaac knew Dracula's Castle was a hint. He gave a moment to ponder before it struck him, the answer so plainly clear, "The human son of the undead…"

Alucard.

Lenore nodded, "A soul that is neither dead nor alive. A walking anomaly in any plane of existence. Such a soul is a bridge between realms simply by existing, and thus can unlock any door…" She tilted her head, "And what poetic justice! The traitorous son who murdered his own father, the very key needed to bring Dracula from Hell with an army at his back unlike the world has ever seen."

Isaac shook his head in disbelief. Poetic justice seemed an understatement. It was more like fate- as if Alucard was meant to be born and his father to die so that Dracula might rise to be the grand ruler of a new era! And Isaac would be the one to deliver his King to his throne. For the first time since Dracula's death, Isaac felt hopeful.

Isaac leaned back into his chair, finally indulging in a dark laugh, "You have impressed me, Lenore." He raised his glass to her, "I look forward to our alliance."

\--------

Hector and Lenore walked down the hall after their meeting with Isaac, passing by Isaac's night creatures who were now lining the halls like sentry. Hector looked at them nervously and they glowered back at him, all of Isaac's anger present within them.

Lenore nearly sang, "You're welcome." 

Hector sneered, " _You're welcome_? For what? Promising me as a slave to the man who wants to torture me?"

"I just saved your life, Hector." Lenore told him with a smile. It was incredible how that gentle air never left her, even when she was lying.

Hector didn't want to play her stupid mind games so he didn't respond, but she went on talking anyway, "I not only talked him out of torturing you for his own pleasure, but I convinced him to go with a plan where you don't have to forge any night creatures. I did say I would protect you, didn't I?"

God it was true. But he hated her for it. He hated that he literally had no agency in the situation anyway. He hated how thankful he was to her because she didn't deserve it!

She patted him on the cheek, causing him to cringe and turn away.

"I'll leave you to your own bed chambers tonight." She told him, "Good night, Hector."

She left. And Hector stood there honestly wondering how he was still alive after all of this… And whether he really wanted to be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor finds himself at (surprise!) a tavern! There he runs into an old friend who gives him a much needed wake up call.

Trevor didn't make it far. 

Just down the road, less than half a day’s journey from the Belmont estate, was a remote mountain town with, of course, a tavern.

Trevor drank and drank until he passed out only to thoroughly regret it the next day, sitting at the counter with yet another mug of beer. He stared into it feeling unbelievably sick and tired while little foamy bubbles popped up to the surface.

“It will make you feel better.” He tried telling himself, but for the first time in ages the last thing he wanted was another taste of beer. He dropped his head down onto the table and groaned, “You’re never gonna leave this place if you don’t muster the energy to just get up and do it.”

Around the tavern were familiar faces. People from his childhood that had aged through the years. It was like seeing ghosts of a past that he really wanted to forget. He changed his shirt to hide the Belmont crest and either they didn’t recognize him or they were too afraid to say anything.

There were also some faces he didn’t recognize, making him wonder how long it had been since he had left his childhood home. There was a woman in particular who was strikingly beautiful, wearing some truly odd clothes; a rather revealing satin green dress with garish puffy sleeves. Even more odd than that was a ribbon tied into her blonde hair like a bow. He had never seen anything like it. She danced from table to table, making light conversations with different patrons. The tavern had a gloomy atmosphere, but she seemed to have a way of making people smile. Trevor watched her with muted interest; she was incredibly attractive and he had half a mind to flirt with her, but the other half was still heartbroken over Sypha. 

Suddenly she caught him looking so he quickly turned back to his drink. He rubbed at his pounding head and actually pushed the mug of ale aside, thinking maybe it would be better to sleep off the hangover in the horse and buggy, _away_ from temptation. He glanced out a window and was surprised to see it was dusk- had he slept a whole day away?

…Maybe he was struggling more than he realized…

He slid out his chair to leave but, unfortunately, he had attracted the foreign girl's attention.

She stood in front of him, half his size beaming a big smile and held out her hand to shake, “Are you Trevor Belmont? You look exactly like your portrait!"

Trevor nervously looked around before putting a finger to his lip, shushing her, “Quiet down! I don't want people to know that I’m- ….” Then he paused, "...My portrait?"

She nodded, "Yes! The one hanging in Dracula’s Castle?” Then she tapped her chin, “Oh, I guess you haven’t commissioned the painting yet.” She held out her hand, introducing herself, “Maria.”

Trevor just stared at her, realizing that she might have been pretty but… maybe also a little crazy.

He didn’t have time for this. He didn't want to talk to anyone in this small town and he did _not_ want to risk his identity getting revealed.

He dropped some change on the counter and began walking toward the door, ignoring the look of hurt on her face, “Wait!” She tried, but he ignored her still.

He put his hand on the door knob when it flung open and he found himself face to face with none other than Saint Germaine. The two men stood for a moment looking at each other in shock before Germaine broke into a hearty laugh, “Trevor!” He boomed loud enough for _everyone_ in the tavern to hear, “Trevor Belmont!”

Now they were _all_ looking at him.

Trevor covered his face with his hands, “Sweet Mary, Jesus, and Joseph…”

\---------

And so he found himself sitting across from Germaine at a table by a stained glass window. At least Germaine was nice enough to buy him some food, but now, of course, everyone else in the tavern was stealing glances at him and whispering. Trevor really wanted to get out but he felt he owed Germaine some conversation. Thankfully, Maria did a good job of distracting the peeping toms, giving Trevor and Germaine a chance to talk.

“So she’s the one you needed to rescue from the infinite corridor?” Trevor asked, watching Maria bop around the tavern. Then he frowned, “Isn’t she… a little young for you?”

Germaine gave Trevor an incredulous look, “She’s my daughter.”

“Oh. Yes! Of course.” Trevor tried laughing it off nervously, “Anyway, I’m glad you were able to find her.”

Germaine nodded, “As am I but…” He watched her as she pulled a string from her pocket and wrapped it around her fingers, showing the spectators some of the weird tricks she had learned (this was a game she called “cat’s cradle”), “Being in there for so long… It’s changed her.”

Trevor stole a glance at her again, “She did say some strange things to me.”

“She was only a little girl when I lost her. And now she’s a grown woman who has seen things you and I could never possibly come to comprehend.” Germaine sighed, “But I thank you, nonetheless. I would have never been able to get her back were it not for you and Sypha. Where is Sypha, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Trevor stared down into his beef stew, feeling more sick than ever, “We uh… Decided we aren’t working together anymore…”

A pregnant silence filled the space between them before Germaine nodded in understanding, “I am sorry to hear that.”

Trevor felt too sick to eat but he shoved a spoonful of stew into his mouth to keep from having to say anything. The silence remained, save for the sound of Maria’s gentle laughter, a haunting almost melancholy sound. 

_So Germaine went into the infinite corridor and came back with this strange girl..._

No matter how much Trevor did _not_ want to think about the events at Lindenfeld, they just kept coming up again and again. He remembered how he purposefully kept the gate open long enough to let Germaine through.

It was an act of kindness… As if he was trying to salvage something good from so much tragedy.

He stopped eating and stared into the dark soup, unable to stop himself from thinking the things he was thinking. Trevor blurted out, “How did you become a saint?”

Germaine raised his brows.

Trevor rubbed his eyes, “Sorry, you- … You don’t have to answer that…”

“No, no. It’s fine.” Germaine waved his hand, “It’s just not a question I get very often.”

“That surprises me. With all the stories you tell?”

“ _That_ one is the _least_ interesting.” He leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable, “But before I tell you, why do you want to know?”

“I guess I want to know why God picked you.” Trevor said almost accusingly, “What is it about you that has deemed you worthy enough to live forever while so many others suffer and die?”

Germaine gave him a hard look, and Trevor almost blushed, suddenly very self conscious about the last time he shaved, whether his eyes were bloodshot. How obvious was it that he was falling apart?

Finally, Germaine spoke, “You might be surprised to hear that despite being a Saint, I don’t have much of a relationship with God. I also often wonder if my sainthood is less of a reward and more of a punishment... But whatever the reason, why I am still here is not what’s important. What is important is what I do with this life that was given to me.”

Trevor’s eyes narrowed, “What you _do_ with it?” Heat filled his chest, “You are _not_ some hero. You knew just as well as Sypha and I what was happening in Lindenfeld but you only cared for your own interests. All of those people suffering and dying and you did nothing to help them. You were only ever striving for your own selfish goal! You did nothing to stop what you knew was happening! You knew all of those people would die but didn't stop it because you _wanted_ to go through that gate, for _one_ person!? Was she-" He waved his hand at Maria, " -really worth all of those lives!? I don’t know why I ever helped you!” Trevor’s sudden raise in volume attracted some people’s attention, but Maria quickly distracted them, looking back over her shoulder at Trevor and Germaine anxiously.

Germaine closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before speaking again, “You’re right. When you’ve lived as long as I have, you learn rather quickly that you cannot be a hero. As much as you might want to, you cannot save everyone. You really can only strive for those ‘selfish’ things that you want and ignore the rest.”

Trevor's mouth almost dropped open in shock. It was the truth he always knew, but to hear it directly from a saint himself?? Confirming it to be true…? Even a Saint saw it all as pointless!

“-But.” Germaine continued, “That’s because I know my limits.” He opened his hand to Trevor, revealing the wrinkles of an old man, “I am no God. I have no magic. I have no power or strength to my name. You are right. I saw what was happening, but I knew I would not be able to stop it, even if I tried. I knew I could never save all of those people… But I _did_ know that I could save _one_ life. I could save _her_. All I wanted was my daughter and I knew this was a goal I could achieve. And now look at her.”

He looked over to his daughter who had pulled some awkward young man up from a chair and started dancing with him around the room. Some people were clapping too. She alone was inspiring a rather cheerful scene.

“I am heartbroken for all of those people who died, but what could I do? Accept defeat and surrender? Instead focused on using it as an opportunity to achieve my personal, 'selfish' goal. And _you_ helped me fulfill that. Your kindness spread to me, which spread to her and now… It spreads to this young man she dances with. And that young man will leave this tavern and continue to spread joy with people he meets. Kindness creates kindness. Just because you cannot save a whole village, does not diminish those few lives you _can_ make a difference to.”

Trevor set his jaw, still stiff with anger, but he wasn't sure what to say or how to respond. He just stared at Germaine, angry and confused, so the Saint carried on: “I do what I can to help those I can, and I have to ignore the rest… Or else the weight of guilt will crush me.” 

“That doesn’t sound very Saintly.”

Germaine shrugged, “I am not a very saintly saint.” And as if to prove his point, he pulled out a pipe to smoke, “You want to know how I became a saint?” He borrowed some fire from the candle on the table to light his pipe, took a couple of puffs then exhaled a long string of smoke, “I was an English soldier who was ordered to slaughter a prominent French noble family. The family were leaders in a rebellion my superiors wanted us to crush. I and my colleagues carried out the order with impunity… But I disobeyed my superiors by sparing the life of a little girl.” For a moment Germaine’s face was consumed a distant solemnity, “I carried her out of the house when the others were not looking and I helped her escape through the back garden.” He took another puff from his pipe before sighing, “Turns out she became a Saint herself. A martyr, even. I believe her fate was to die that day I and my fellow soldiers raided her home, but my simple action of letting her go changed the course of history. Then my kindness to her allowed her to touch the lives of so many more. That is why I am a Saint.”

Trevor was dead silent. The story of soldiers raiding a noble home, with one small slip of fate allowed a young child to escape…

It was too close to his heart.

He clenched his fists, feeling a horrible mixture of terrible emotions. He glowered down at the table as if _it_ were to blame for all of his problems.

An out of breath Maria approached them, arms folded, “Are you two finished talking yet?” She wiped some sweat from her brow, “I’m getting worn out from trying to keep all of these people from wanting to talk to you, Trevor Belmont.” She stuck out her tongue playfully.

_Belmont._

The word hung in the air like a cloud of stench.

Trevor stood up, “Yes. I was just about to leave.” He couldn’t hide the upset in his tone, but he didn't care.

Germaine stood up too, “Before you do.” He took Trevor’s hand and dropped something into it, a strange opalescent gem, “I won’t be needing that anymore. It’s almost impossible to navigate the infinite corridor without one. I think a Belmont could find better use for it than I.”

Trevor opened his mouth to protest, but he was still at a loss for words. He simply nodded and dropped it into his pocket. He started for the door, and as he did Maria called out to him, “Send Adrian my regards!”

Trevor paused at the door and looked back at her with a frown, “You know Alucard?”

She nodded, “Yes, but he hasn’t met _me_ yet.” She winked again.

Trevor just accepted that the chick was bonkers and left the tavern. He climbed back to his horse and wagon, sat in the driver’s seat, lifted the reins to start moving but just… Sat there.

He sat there for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time: I have never played a Castlevania game. Ha ha! However, I did go charging around the web to read up on the games because I was interested to know what direction the Castlevania anime might go. For that reason, I do know of characters from the game who haven't been mentioned yet in the TV show (like Maria!). For those of you who have played the games, yes I am taking some pretty big liberties with her character... To be honest, I don't even know what her personality might be like (maybe a little haughty?). However, I already feel like the TV show has taken massive liberties with the characters and story. From what I've read almost feels like the TV show is a fanfiction for the games! ha ha! So I hope that the way I have incorporated her isn't too out of this world... Also, it is all building up to some really fun timey wimey infinite corridor fun times. ;) Feel free to provide some input if you have played the games! I have some fun ideas on where this story is going that I think you guys might like!
> 
> EDIT: I realized after posting this that this is a super short chapter. The next chapter is already written up but I want to give it a once over before posting it. I'll be posting it faster than I usually do to make up for the fact that this is such a bite sized chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alucard and Sypha have a little heart to heart in the Belmont underground while Hector and Lenore have an equally tense conversation as both sides prepare to fight. Meanwhile Trevor makes an alarming discovery that leads him to believe Alucard is gathering an army of demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATED TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE  
> Specifically between Lenore and Hector.
> 
> Also man guys I really want to apologize for taking so long for this update. I’m actually in the middle of moving countries (yes, during a global pandemic, I’m crazy) and I got really sucked into this DND campaign I’m DMing and had to focus on that for a bit to make sure I got all the details of the world. It’s all coming together now and is at a point where it’s running itself which means I can turn some attention back to this!! Hopefully while I’m stuck in 2 week self quarantine I can pump out some more chapters of this for you all! ;)
> 
> Sorry this is another slowish chapter too...honestly I wish I had combined this with the last chapter, but I won’t because that will probably just confuse folks. The next chapter is quite exciting so stay tuned.
> 
> I have really enjoyed writing this for reasons I did not expect; I enjoy how it’s made me think about the purpose of life, what it means to be human or a monster, among other such deep questions. I hope you are seeing those themes in here too!
> 
> Btw, if any of you like vampires (which I assume you do if you are reading this) and Dungeons and Dragons, find someone DMing Curse of Strahd, you wont be disappointed!!
> 
> UPDATE: I added Trevor’s bit onto this chapter instead of posting on it on the next. Thought it fit better here! Also I apologize in advance about the giant penis demon. I was trying to think of what this demon might look like and for some reason I could only think of this meme! https://imgur.com/gallery/AA2Jm Ha ha! This is such a serious chapter so I hope a little humor is not misplaced. ;)

Sypha slipped a dusty book off the shelf in the Belmont underground, frowning as she flipped through the pages. _Trevor_ was the tactician, and it was clear she and Alucard were struggling to formulate a solid plan of defense without him. She hoped there was something in these books about battle tactics or siege preparation…

She stood next to the very mirror they had used to retrieve Dracula's castle. It showed her reflection, the shelf she was pondering, and Alucard creeping up from behind her. She was too focused to notice him until his cold fingers brushed her neck.

She bristled, Alucard's nose pressed into her hair. She looked at their reflection, cheeks flushed. This was an awfully sudden and intimate touch from someone like him. He was so close to her she could feel his breath on her neck. It was like a winter breeze.

Then she felt his sharp nails trace along her throat, "Alucard?" She gulped.

He pulled his fingers through her hair, running them against his lips before letting it go, “Hm.” He mused.

“Hm?” She squeaked.

Alucard was so clearly off, and she didn’t want to say that she didn’t trust him anymore… But she didn’t trust him anymore. She had noticed Trevor’s blood on the floor in the foyer after he left. She knew they must have had a confrontation. Alucard had assured her Trevor was fine, but that and the corpses on spikes and the general way he was acting was more than enough to make her question. She wanted to help him, but she was also afraid that he was already lost.

Alucard moved away from her and Sypha visibly relaxed. He turned his attention back to the shelves, “You smell different.” 

“I _smell_ different?!” Sypha repeated aghast, “Why are you smelling me enough to know how I smell normally!?”

He remained aloof, unperturbed, slipping a book from one of the shelves and flipping open the pages, looking even a little bored, "You really can't smell yourself? You and Trevor have incredible auras of noxious fumes."

Sypha turned pink, "How rude!!" She huffed, but took a whiff of her armpit just in case. She shoved the book she was reading back on the shelf, "That's it!" She snatched the book from Alucard's hands and tossed it over her shoulder.

He looked a _little_ surprised. As much as Alucard _could_ look surprised. She got right up in his face, standing on tiptoe in order to do so. Then she jabbed an angry finger into his chest, "What is going on with you!? What happened while Trevor and I were away? I'll admit you've never been the friendly type but this is a whole new level of coldness, even for you. You are acting like your father!"

With that Alucard frowned, "I am not my father." He said gruffly.

Good. She was pushing his buttons. If she could keep him talking she might get answers out of him; "Who _else_ is famous for impaling bodies on spikes!? Those corpses were just _kids,_ Alucard!" He just glared at her with those icey eyes and said nothing. At least Trevor barked back. Adrian was like yelling at a wall. Perhaps she wasn't going to get anywhere with him and it… broke her heart. She couldn't handle much more heartbreak after Trevor left; "I want to trust you. I want to believe that it wasn't something sinister, but I don't know what to believe! Part of me wonders if I am witnessing your descent. You never eat. I only see you drinking wine. You spend so much time in the dark… I wonder if you are following in your father's footsteps."

Alucard's eyes narrowed and he glared at her with such menace she was scared what she said was true. But then… he softened, the moment of rage deflating into a deep melancholy.

"Perhaps…" He responded quietly.

Finally he was revealing himself to her, the pain was written all over his face and it was so raw Sypha was almost overwhelmed. But here it was; an opening.

She took his hands and squeezed, looking up into his eyes desperately, "Please… Adrian… Talk to me. Maybe I can help you."

He looked back into her eyes and his lips parted ever so slightly, as if he was about to speak, but then his eye caught something behind her and immediately he shut his mouth. The opening in his emotional blockade was closing again. He pulled his hands away from her, turned his face away. Always he was turning away…

"We take care of Isaac first." He said stiffly, walking away from her to inspect another book shelf.

Sypha sighed, then looked back to see what it might have been that caught his eye. She saw a glass cabinet full of skulls- vampire skulls.

She slowly approached it. How many times had she walked past this case and never looked at it? There were so many… At least a dozen…

Some looked like they may have even belonged to children.

It was in that moment she wondered why she was so accusing of Alucard for planting skeletons on spikes without even giving a second thought to this very same macabre display; a cabinet full of corpses? She had walked past these wretched war trophies many times without even bothering to notice them. How was this different to her? Was it only different because these weren't human?

Aside from the fangs… These skulls were human in every other way. 

She turned her back to the cabinet, overwhelmed. Her eye caught Alucard, who was sitting atop a book case, swinging his leg like a cat swishing its tail.

Sypha called out to him, "Why do you try?"

Alucard gave her a bemused look, "Excuse me?"

"Why did you believe your father had to be stopped? Why did you defy your own kind for humanity? Humans who you believe will never accept you?"

Alucard returned to his book, "That is a stupid question."

Sypha groaned, "Can you please just entertain me a little?"

His eyes met hers. He closed the book and stood up, then looked out toward the lift they had taken to get down into the cellar.

"My mother told me to forgive people who simply do not understand. She said this as she burned at the stake." He paused, contemplating the memory, "I think my father found her infinite capacity for forgiveness foolish… but it was this same forgiveness that made him fall in love with her. Quite the paradox. I always believed in her philosophy over my father's because it always made more sense to me… but now… I wonder… maybe my father was right. What if her capacity to forgive was just naive? Is it possible I only wanted to believe in my mother's way of thinking because I want to believe we live in a kinder world than the one in my father's vision?"

Sypha contemplated this too. All things she had begun to wonder. Finally she asked quietly, "What do you believe now?"

Alucard couldn't answer this immediately, and frankly his silence made her nervous, but finally he said, "I don’t know what to believe. All I know is that I want to protect you and I want to protect Trevor. That means protecting the world you two live in from people like Isaac. Perhaps it makes me selfish..."

Sypha blushed, "That's maybe the kindest thing you've ever said to me. _Certainly_ is about Trevor."

"Don't make me regret it." He scoffed, looking away from her, but she saw the hint of a smile on his lips.

Sypha looked back at the skulls; there were so many mistakes, so much violence and tragedy. It didn't make sense…. But protecting the people she cared about _did_ make sense.

"Okay!" She said with renewed vigor, "Let's kick some night creatures’ butts or go to Hell trying!"

———-

Truthfully, Hector didn’t want to die. Who knew better than a forgemaster how pointless “death” was? Death wouldn’t free him from servitude; it would simply place him in servitude of a different kind. Death wouldn’t bring an end to this Hell. It would be dropping him right into _actual_ Hell.

Perhaps that was why Hector never had many qualms in aiding Dracula in his ruthless conquest. Killing people when they could literally be brought back made the whole act of killing seem pretty non-serious. Being ‘dead’ or ‘alive’ makes little difference to the life of a soul; it is simply a state of being in different planes of existence. Death was only a transition from one place to the next. And Hector didn’t have much reason to feel remorse for the folks on his current plane of being.

Maybe he was just a stupid childish fool like Carmilla had always said…

The paintbrush tickled his bare back as Lenore delicately painted demonic symbols onto his skin. _“For practice”_ , she had said, for when they performed the actual ritual using Alucard.

He could smell the heady lead in the red paint. The actual ritual would require the runes be painted in blood. _Whose_ blood was a question Hector was too afraid to ask.

“Stop twitching.” Lenore spoke sharply.

“It tickles.”

Lenore giggled. Her voice as gentle as a twittering bird. Even now he wondered whether she really had his best interest in her heart. The power of her manipulation was truly that deep; even now it was difficult for him to tell the truth from the lies. And he hated how much he wanted her to love him, sickening desperate stupid neediness. She was playing him like a fiddle and he knew it.

On the wooden floor where he was kneeling was a pentagram painted in similar red paint. Scattered about them were books open to different pages detailing the ritual they would have to perform on Alucard. They had decided that the ritual would be performed in Dracula’s throne room. It was perhaps the only space big enough, and of course Lenore had made comments of the ‘poetic justice’ of such a stage and what other bull shit Isaac wanted to hear. Presently they were practicing in an old storage room that Lenore had cleared out to practicing painting the delicate runes.

 _“It has to be perfect.”_ She said, _“If it’s not, the results could be catastrophic.”_

Ignoring that the results would be catastrophic anyway.

“You really think Alucard will sit still long enough to let you do this to him?”

Lenore was behind him, but he could practically hear her smile when she spoke, “I can be very persuasive.”

Hector couldn’t argue with that…. But would Adrian be stupid enough to fall for her silver tongue?

Hector had never met Dracula’s son. Dracula once told Hector that he saw Adrian in him, like Hector was the replacement for the son that abandoned him. But now he wondered if that was only because Dracula saw him as a child. Everyone saw him as a child. So much so, he couldn’t help but believe it.

Just a stupid child.

He took a deep breath, wondering how it was possible to hate himself so much.

Lenore snapped, “I said don’t move.”

“So I can’t even breathe?”

She slapped him across the face. She was so fast he didn’t even see her move.

“Sorry.” He said softly, immediately surrendering. 

Some of his very own night creatures were there in the room with him, watching him. Even they turned their faces away. His own army of night creatures forged by his own hands too ashamed to look at him.

Lenore, however, was pleased. She gave the paint brush in her fingers a little lick, a quick flick of her tongue shaping it into a sharp point, “Don’t look so sour, Hector. I have to paint your face now and no one likes a sad clown.”

There was nowhere he could hide. At least when she was behind him he didn’t have to look at her. Now even his face was exposed. He tried so hard to keep a straight face, but he was sure the sadness was there.

_Alucard…_

This would be him soon, naked and vulnerable and unable to do anything while Lenore painted him like a court jester. Hector rarely ever felt empathy toward anyone, but he knew he didn’t want anyone else to have to suffer like this. 

Not like this.

——

Hector walked slowly back to his room in little more than one silk robe. It was chilly in Styria in so few clothes, and he shivered as he wandered through the stark halls, noting how freakishly pristine the living quarters were in comparison to other parts of the castle.

Nothing like the dungeon.

A cat mewled at his feet and Hector looked down to find one of his night creatures, an undead feline with a missing eye, rubbing up against his heels. Hector actually smiled a little, comforted by the gesture.

He knelt down to scoop her up then paused, spotting Isaac at the end of the hall. Hector looked behind him, hoping there was someone else around. But who would be there? There was no one but the undead.

He took a couple of steps back as Isaac quickly closed the distance between them and shoved Hector against the wall.

Hector cowered, unable to look his old partner in the eye and Isaac spoke slowly and carefully; "I know I agreed to keep you safe to carry out our plans… But your transgressions have not been forgotten. I agreed to go with your plan and you _lied._ If it weren't for you, Dracula might still be here."

Hector honestly doubted that but he wasn't about to argue back. The cat, however, seemingly aware of Hector's true feelings, snarled at Isaac's feet. Isaac gave the little beast a dark look, and Hector held his breath, afraid Isaac might kill it. But he did not.

"You disrespect the purity of your night creatures." He said, "You could learn a thing or two about loyalty from them."

The cat scampered off, now responding to Hector's fear.

Isaac wrapped his fingers around Hector's neck, "I will not be fooled again." He squeezed Hector's windpipe, causing him to choke, "If you dare to cross me or Lenore I will flay you alive then bring you back as my night creature to torture for the rest of eternity."

————

Once again, Trevor didn’t make it far. He made it one town over.

_One town over._

At least every new town had a tavern identical to the last. And, as anyone could guess, here Trevor sat yet another evening, hunched over a pint. But this time he wasn’t drinking. He was just staring. Watching the bubbles come to the surface and pop, numb to the sounds and activity around him. His mind was racing with the Saint’s words. They had kept him up all night, haunting him into the next day...

And now they were keeping him from his damn drink!

_“You really can only strive for those ‘selfish’ things that you want and ignore the rest.”_

What were the ‘selfish’ things Trevor wanted?

“AGH!’ He shouted, throwing his hands up into his hair, “Why does it matter so much!?”

A couple of bar patrons looked over to him but he didn’t care. A grizzly looking bartender approached with an accusing scowl, “Are you going to drink that or just shout at it?”

Getting the message, Trevor pulled a coin from his pocket and tossed it onto the counter, collecting his things to leave.

That’s when he heard shouts from outside. Two men sitting by the windows jumped to their feet, alarmed by what they were seeing outside. Trevor rolled his eyes, “Is there anywhere- _anywhere_ in this whole wide world that isn’t involved in some kind of crisis???” He pulled the Morningstar from his belt, already bored and annoyed.

But then he paused, looking at the glistening Morningstar in his hand. He remembered the look on Alucard's face every time he reached for it...

He grabbed his old whip instead.

He stepped out of the tavern and into the the town square. It was in some disarray as vendors hastily abandoned their stalls, running from _something_ coming down the road. Trevor squinted, seeing a pack of creatures but couldn't quite make them out. A woman ran past him screaming about a night creature, “It’s hideous!” She cried out, tripping on her own feet before ducking around a corner.

He sighed, stretching the whip between his fists, “Okay…” he muttered, noting that his horse was quartered like five minutes from here, he could just leave-

Then the night creature in question came into view and Trevor realized why the woman was so alarmed. 

It was awfully humanlike... _too_ human like.

Clearly a man.

“Jesus Christ…” Trevor actually covered his eyes.

It was hairy with a pointed nose and pointed ears and between its legs was the biggest penis Trevor had ever seen. Not that Trevor would boast about seeing a lot of dicks in his life, but this night creature was toting a member the actual size of a literal leg. In fact, the massive genital was even larger and thicker than the night creature's very own scrawny legs.

Trevor cringed, “Alright. I’ll give it you, lady. _That_ is hideous.”

The demon stopped walking, it's beady eyes landing on Trevor's whip. The demon scoffed and spoke in a nasally voice, "Out of my way, _monster hunter."_

Trevor smirked in response, spinning the end of the whip, getting ready to throw it, "Oh- so _this one can talk?_ "

Trevor paused noticing a small army of cats and dogs surrounding the demon, all forged undead beasts. None of them looked hostile though.

"It is not in our interest to fight you." The well endowed demon said, "Let us be on our way."

Trevor just continued to smile, "And where might you be going?"

The demon flailed his arms in frustration, "It doesn't matter to you! Just leave us alone!"

Two brutish undead dogs stepped forward growling, a cat with a missing ear joined them and hissed. Trevor twirled the whip over his head, lashing out at one of the dogs. The other dog and cat lunged, but he batted them back with ease, hurling the dog's body into another cat before he twirled his whip around the beast's neck and snapped it with a flick of his wrist.

The demon was wringing his hands and watching in horror, "What are you doing!? You complete fucking monster!" He screeched.

Trevor noted the irony of being called a monster by an actual monster. He grabbed the demon by the shoulder, hardly with any force but the giant appendage made the creature easily unbalanced. The demon yelped, spinning around, clumsily slapping Trevor with his johnson before toppling to the ground like a turtle on its back. It was almost pitiful.

_Almost._

Trevor planted his boot on the creature's chest, and it looked up at him, frightened.

“Start talking,” Trevor said, trying to maintain a cool tone while that giant phallus flopping around in the corner of his vision, “Where are you going and who do you serve?"

“Lemme go!” The creature yowled in a shrill needly voice, but Trevor just pushed down harder, "Dracula's castle!" The demon gasped, "There is someone there we need to protect."

Trevor's heart pounded, "Who? _Who_ do you need to protect!? You know Dracula is dead?"

"Of course I do!" The thing spat, "I am no idiot!"

Trevor pushed his boot in harder, making the demon squeal in pain, "Then WHO!?" He shouted louder, unable to control his growing anger.

"I-I don't know!" The demon's eyes darted between Trevor's frantically, as if searching for some humanity, some sympathy, "I only feel what is in my master's heart. I don't know the details! My master wants to protect someone in Dracula's castle, that's all I know!"

"Who is your master?"

"Hector."

Hector. Where had Trevor heard that name before?

He grabbed the demon by it's hair, forcing it to its feet. It squealed in terror, quivering under Trevor's fist, dick swinging around like a thick rope.

Trevor covered his eyes, "Lord have mercy…" He muttered, dragging the demon to his horse. The remaining undead animal entourage quietly followed behind.

"Where are you taking me!?" The demon cried.

Trevor's voice was dripping with venom, "Dracula's castle." He threw the demon at the hooves of his horse and used the rope from his whip to tie its wrists. He wouldn't be needing his whip anymore. The Morningstar would do just fine. The undead animals behind him growled and snarled, but the demon looked to them and shook his head, silently ordering them to stand down.

With the demon tied up, Trevor attached him to his horse then climbed into the wagon to grab enough supplies for a couple of days, just enough to carry on his back. The demon watched him anxiously with those needly eyes.

Trevor threw the bags over the saddle then mounted his horse. The demon could see Trevor's rage in his aura, like a cloud of smoke encircling him in madness. The demon cowered, wondering why the monster hunter hadn't just offed him yet…

Trevor gave the demon a dark look, "We're going to Dracula's castle so you can ask its current owner _why_ he is recruiting his father's army to protect him." He rubbed at his wrist, where Alucard had sliced him open. The wound still stung.

The demon set his jaw, seeing that whatever was going on with this monster hunter was quite _personal,_ "Are-are you going to kill me!?" It whined.

Trevor didn't care to entertain the demon's questions. The fury in Alucard's eyes, the hunger and rage… Why did he just walk out and leave Sypha alone with him!? He saw all the signs! Alucard was his fucking father. If he left now, it may not be too late for her.

 _"All we can do is strive for those selfish things…"_ Trevor shook his head, as if trying to shake out Germaine's advice and gave the horse a little kick to get moving. The demon tripped over his own penis before getting tugged along, the night creatures following behind them.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac and Lenore attack the castle, giving Alucard a difficult decision: save himself or Sypha and Trevor?

It had been a while since Alucard had visited the mirror. Sypha and him were too busy trying to prepare for the coming onslaught. But that didn't mean it wasn't in the back of his mind…

He stood before it now, just gazing into the reflection. Not at himself, but more or less at the mirror itself. 

He wanted to see Trevor.

This wasn't the first time he had stood before the mirror since Trevor had left. What did he want? To say sorry? To apologize for the way he acted?

Alucard hated how they had left things… And then of course…There was also the fact that Sypha was-

Alucard pushed his hair back from his face, as if trying to wipe away the anxiety. Focus. Focus on the problem at hand. Isaac and an army of night creatures from Styria.

But it was clear that they were in a losing battle. Alucard waved his hand, revealing the snowy castle in Styria, spying on them to see their progress… He and SyphahSypha watched over the past couple of weeks as Isaac's army grew, and it was clear the battle was lost before it began. Sypha, however, had an endless amount of optimism and insisted on charging forward. As time passed things got more dire…

Alucard was going to have to do something.

It was at that point Sypha wandered in, looking tired and disheveled. She sauntered up to Alucard, groaning and stretching her back, "Of all the times to get sick!" She said.

Sick.

Alucard hadn't told her what he knew. He wasn't really sure how… or when.

She walked up to the mirror, folding her arms with a frown, observing the situation, "Seems awfully quiet at Styria today." She said, pointing out the noticeable lack of night creatures guarding the outside. She looked to him, lifting her finger, "Mind if I have a look?"

He shook his head and Sypha took charge, using her finger to flip through images in the mirror like a flip book. She had learned to use the mirror too during her stay, though it hadn't quite attuned to her the same way it had to Alucard.

As the images flicked past, his mind was racing; _tell her._

_No. You can't tell her now. She needs to focus._

_But isn't not telling her lying to her? What kind of a friend does that? You're a horrible friend and a horrible person!_

"Adrian…"

_But I need her. I need her to protect this castle._

_You mean to protect_ you, _you selfish asshole? Shouldn't you be protecting her by encouraging her to leave!? You already know this fight is lost!_

"Adrian!"

He snapped out of it, blinking back into reality. He looked at Sypha, looked at the image of an empty castle in the mirror. Sypha gasped, eyes wide and cheeks pale, "They aren't there."

It took a second for that to sink in, then they heard a rumble echo throughout the castle.

"Then they're here…" He said.

Sypha immediately jumped into action, "I'll get into position-" But Alucard grabbed her by the arm, yanking her back.

She looked up at him incredulously, "What are you doing!? We need to move!!"

His grip on her tightened, his entire face clenched, locked in a battle with himself. He knew this was pointless. Everything they had planned, Isaac and his army would break through all of it. They were fooling themselves.

But here they were, now, in front of the mirror.

Sypha's eyes darted between him and the mirror, reading his mind. She scowled, "We can't run, Alucard.

A roar echoed down the hall, the night creatures had clearly breached their lines of defenses. Sypha groaned, "Did we even slow them down…?"

Alucard dragged her toward the mirror. She fought against him, "Adrian! I know it's a losing battle but we can't let them take the castle-"

Alucard ignored her, waving his hand and revealing the location of Trevor. Sypha became even more pale. Trevor on the other side of the mirror rounded his horse, looking back through them in the portal in space in shock and surprise, “Sypha!?” 

They were high above him, looking down at him. He couldn't reach them.

"Trevor already said he wouldn't help us!" Sypha shouted.

Alucard and Trevor locked eyes, staring each other down with equal amounts of fury. A night creature breached the library door, there was no time to exchange words. Alucard threw Sypha into the mirror.

"Fuck!" Trevor leapt from his horse, ready to catch her.

"Adrian!" Sypha yelled back at him angrily. She flipped her hands around, shooting blazes of fire out of her palms, catching herself in mid air (and blasting Trevor with a face full of smoke). She shot back towards the opening, hoping to pull through before Alucard closed it, then watched as he was tackled by a night creature. Alucard snarled and tried fighting back, but he was dogpiled. He glanced into the mirror one last time before it shattered, just as Sypha was about to break through.

Shards of glass exploded in the air in front of her; "Ack!" She threw her hands in front of her face as thousands of needle-like fragments sliced her skin and clothes. No longer keeping herself aloft, she plummeted.

Trevor had just finished wiping the ash from his eyes and looked up just in time for Sypha to plow into him, sending them both into a heap on the ground.

"My back…" Trevor grunted as Sypha rolled off of him. She was up like a springboard, glaring into the empty space in the sky where the portal once was, "Adrian!" She shouted, "Adrian you complete idiot!" She began hurling motes of fire into the empty space angrily.

"Sypha…" Trevor said softly.

She stopped her tantrum and held her fists by her sides, shoulders shaking, then doubled over and puked all over the grass.

\-----

They shattered the mirror. Alucard didn't even know that was possible. A demon wielding a giant club just shattered it like glass. He watched the little bits of mirror float in front of his eyes, fully taking in the weight of it.

There was no way out. Sypha was gone. There was no one here to protect.

That meant he could let go.

His eyes blazed red, he bared his teeth and growled. His magic swords whistled through the air and impaled the night creature holding him down. Sickly thick blood spewed out of it, showering Alucard in black bile… But he was so hungry he didn't care. Blood was blood.

He grinned, licking it off of his face before eyeballing another night creature leering over him atop a bookshelf.

Alucard darted out from under the one he had just killed and pounced onto one above like a cat, sinking in his nails and teeth. The creature screamed and Alucard's mouth filled with bitter blood. There was little more disgusting than demon's blood, but it sent Alucard into a complete frenzy. He sucked the life out of it, falling with it as it toppled to the floor in a heap. He ripped a chunk out of its neck, eyes on the next beast who dared to fight him, blood and gore dripping down his chest

The beast didn't hesitate to lunge at him and Alucard smiled with sadistic pleasure, eager to kill it. All it took was a simple side step and Alucard hooked it by the shoulder, swinging up onto the creature's back and plunging his magic swords through it's neck, splattering blood all over his face and hands.

Alucard gasped, unable to hold himself back anymore and threw himself into the fresh wound, practically bathing himself in the disgusting thing's blood.

He was distracted, making it easy for Isaac to pin him. Alucard didn't even notice the two silver knives flying through the air until they knocked him off his feet and pinned him to the back wall by his hands. He writhed against the knives like a restrained animal and called upon his swords, but Isaac knocked them out of the air with two loud cracks, snapping the swords completely in two.

Alucard caught his breath and spit out some blood. His hands sizzled from the silver weapons as they burned his palms.

"How unrefined…" A woman's voice floated over their heads. He looked up and saw Lenore standing on a balcony, lips pursed in disgust, "Your father would disapprove."

He had always hated Lenore. They were 'childhood friends' and she was always a snotty brat.

"My father is dead." Alucard growled.

"For now." She giggled.

He noticed a man standing next to her who he recognized as Hector. Both his father's generals and their night creatures in Dracula's Castle all over again. Alucard realized it was foolish to assume his father's legacy was finished after Trevor lopped the man's head off… Dracula's followers were still there and still dangerous.

Isaac spoke to his army, "Imprison him and prepare the throne room. We will perform the ritual there." Then he looked back to Alucard and smiled, "The prodigal son."

Isaac approached and lifted Alucard's chin. Taking a page from Trevor's book, Alucard responded by trying to swing a kick between Isaac's legs but Isaac stomped on his toes, pinning his foot to the ground, "So low class, Adrian, I expected better of the son of Dracula.."

Alucard spat on him.

Isaac wiped away the spit with a stiff finger, "Mere months since you lost your father and already you have devolved into some kind of animal." He grabbed Alucard by the scalp, pulling his head back so they were looking right into each other, "He never deserved you as a son…"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Isaac." Lenore practically sang, "We need him in good shape for tomorrow."

Of course Alucard was curious, but he wasn't about to make conversation with them.

Isaac sighed, letting go of him, "I am a little disappointed. I expected more of a fight."

Lenore just kept smiling, “Look at him. He’s hardly eaten, hardly slept.”

Isaac observed him, noting the same tiredness he had seen in Dracula in his final days. What happens when a vampire doesn’t feed...

Lenore lifted her brow, “Didn’t your father teach you to indulge in your vampiric needs or have you continued lying to yourself? Wearing a human suit like you aren't an undead fiend like the rest of us.”

Alucard just ignored her, knowing the only way to win an argument with Lenore was not to play. She didn’t seem bothered by his silence, and continued talking anyway, “We would like to propose a deal. Isaac here would like to open a gate to Hell to retrieve your father-” That caught Alucard’s attention, “-And we need _you_ as the key to this door. I believe you are familiar with the kind of ritual we have in mind? This will be a lot easier if you aren’t fighting us every step of the way.”

Alucard frowned. He _did_ know of the kind of ritual she had in mind, but he was still choosing not to speak. Not that he needed to as his eyes said everything; _what in the hell makes you think I’d ever agree to something like that?_

“You see, Adrian-” Using his name like they were friends, “-We can either use you as the key or your friend, Sypha was her name?”

Alucard’s eyes narrowed, “Sypha?”

“She’s pregnant, is she not?” Lenore waved her hand in front of her nose, “The smell of it still lingers in the air. I am quite familiar with the smell of pregnancy.”

He took a deep breath, hating how quickly Lenore could manipulate situations to her advantage, “Sypha isn’t here.” He said, pointing out the blatantly obvious.

“Yes, but one of Hector’s night creatures is with her. Or at least… So I saw in that mirror before it was shattered.”

Alucard thought he saw a night creature tied to Trevor's horse in that brief moment in the mirror. Why Trevor was dragging around such a ghastly beast?

Lenore turned to Hector, actually startling him. She smiled up at him sweetly and held out her hand to him, “May I?”

He reluctantly and slowly complied, opening his hand to her. She tapped the ring bound to his finger and Hector felt it loosen. Amazingly, she slid it off.

Isaac watched with a hint of concern. Hector, too, was shocked. After all, it was _the ring_ that was binding him in servitude to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but why would he argue against her taking away the ring? He didn’t know what to say. She just smiled up at him, and patted him on the cheek, “I trust you won’t betray me, Hector.” She said with complete confidence.

Hector’s heart sank. Still speechless, he stood there, technically a free man. But he wasn’t free at all. Her claws had gripped into him so deeply, he felt compelled to obey her. As if the ring itself was seared into his flesh and bone. It didn’t even matter if there was a magic item forcing him into her servitude anymore.

The realization was catastrophic. Hector lowered his head to her, unable to say anything, and she was pleased to see that she was right.

Isaac, watching from below, was impressed. Taking a spiral staircase down from the balcony to meet him, Lenore approached Alucard, rings in hand. She opened her palm to him, showing the little black and red band that would seal the deal. Alucard looked at it with disgust, “It’s your choice, Adrian.” She said gently.

He glared at it angrily, knowing that it was a lose-lose situation either way. But at least this agreement would give Sypha and Trevor a bit of a fighting chance, maybe. “If I agree to your deal, you have to agree not to bring any harm to either Sypha or Trevor.”

Lenore looked a little surprised, “The Belmont?”

“Yes.” Alucard said sternly, offering no further explanation.

Lenore picked up the hint and couldn’t help but chuckle a little, “As you wish.” She slid the ring onto her finger and said, “I swear as much as is within my power that neither Isaac, Hector, nor myself will bring harm to Trevor Belmont and Sypha-...?”

“Belnades.”

“...And Sypha Belnades.” She said in a sweet voice.

The ring responded, sizzling and binding itself to her. She then opened her hand to Alucard. Two of Isaac’s servant’s approached and wrenched Alucard’s hand from the wall. Alucard did his best not to react, but the pain was blinding and he was sure he winced.

He held open his bloodied and burned hand to her, trying not to tremble. She delicately took his fingers, like he was precious, and he hated the way that she touched him, carefully sliding the ring onto his finger, minding his wounds, “Your turn.”

Alucard huffed, “I swear I will give my life to you-”

“-and Isaac.”

Alucard shot Isaac an angry look, “And Isaac… In exchange for the lives of my friends.”

The ring responded, sizzling and gripping into his skin. The agreement was made. Isaac pulled out the other silver dagger and Alucard was freed from the wall, but now completely imprisoned by the two of them. Isaac spun the dagger in his fingers before pocketing it, then gave Lenore an impressed smile, “Where have you been all my life?”

Lenore smiled back at him, “I too am starting to wonder why I never got involved in my sister’s politics and conflicts. This is much too fun.” Then she looked up toward the balcony, “Hector, could you please show Alucard to his chamber for the night.”

This was it. Hector didn’t have to obey her. He was free from the ring. He could say no.

But he stared at her. She stared at him. And he… Wordlessly obeyed. Alucard sighed with some disappointment as Hector began leading him through his own castle to his own dungeon. He said nothing and just folded his arms, hating the whole situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I don't have much to say this chapter, except that I'm finally starting to get over jet lag and reach some normalcy here in the US. Was really excited to finally post this chapter! It's only going to get juicier from here. ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor and Sypha have a quick reunion. Alucard is taken to the dungeon and Hector... Finally decides to do something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has an explicit rape scene. I have included five Xs ( XXXXX ) to mark where it starts if you want to skip over it. Unfortunately it runs right to the end of the chapter, so if you wish to skip it I'll be sure to include a brief synopsis in the Author's Notes of the next chapter that includes any necessary plot points you may have missed if you choose to skip over this scene.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!

Sypha gulped from Trevor's waterskin after puking her guts out, wiping her mouth when she was finished. Trevor stood over her, arms folded looking…

Oddly accusing.

"It is nice to see you too." Sypha muttered, part of her wondering why they couldn't get rid of each other (but also glad they couldn't).

"Are you ready to talk?" He asked.

She looked behind him toward the night creature he had tied to his horse, "First can you explain to me why you are dragging around a night creature?" She examined the demon's giant appendage suspiciously, "One like that?"

Trevor blushed, "What!? No! No, it's not like- ugh! Look-" He pointed back at it, "That thing told me he was on his way to Dracula's Castle to protect Alucard! Dracula's very own army coming to his aid!"

The demon piped up, "I never said who I needed to protect!"

Trevor turned on it, "Did I give you permission to speak?" The demon quivered and frantically shook his head.

Sypha was aghast, "You think that Alucard- ...Adrian is gathering his father's army!? Are you drunk!? I have been with him up until now and he is doing no such thing! You are not blind. You saw those night creatures attack him just now, just as I did!"

"Things aren't adding up, Sypha."

"I refuse to believe that Adrian has turned against us. What he _is_ is an idiot who would throw his life away to protect ours!"

"Then how can you explain this!?" Trevor waved emphatically at the well endowed demon, who was clutching his large appendage like a child might a snuggly toy.

Her face was bright red, "I-I don't know, but you dragging around that thing doesn't make much sense either!"

"I-I need him, for- to-" Trevor looked between the demon and her before giving up trying to explain. 

He plopped down next to her in defeat. He took a deep breath of cool night air. All around then crickets were chirping; the rumble of a distant storm broke through the quiet now and again. Ominous, but distant. An unseen threat.

He looked at the wound on his wrist, "I should never have left you alone with him, Sypha. He attacked me."

Sypha shuddered; she had of course always suspected it but having it confirmed was nonetheless alarming. But then she scowled, "Probably because you pissed him off."

"No." Trevor replied angrily, "I-" he stopped, suddenly remembering what _had_ set Adrian off. Trevor had grabbed him, forced up his sleeve and revealed the scar on his arm.

Trevor had been so wrapped in convincing himself that Alucard was devolving into Dracula he had pretty much forgotten that part of the confrontation.

"You what?" Sypha demanded, "And why do you care? You are always saying you do not care and yet here you are coming back. I thought you wanted to drown yourself in drink? I thought you had given up on us to become some village idiot who hobbles home every night to piss himself to sleep."

Trevor glowered at her, and folded his arms and said-

Nothing. He said god damn nothing because he didn't have any stupid thing to say. He didn't understand it either! 

And then the demon piped up, "Are you two going to sit here all night bickering!?"

"Shut up!" Both Sypha and Trevor snapped. It yelped then closed up its mouth.

Sypha stood up, "I'm going back."

Trevor stood up too and grabbed her, "No. You are not."

She shrugged him off, "How dare you!"

"No. Sypha. Think. If Dracula's castle has been taken… We can't just charge in. We don't have Alucard like we did last time. We have to make a plan."

Sypha looked surprised, "So you are going to help me save him?"

Trevor put his hand to the Morningstar. Save Alucard? Trevor was starting to consider more and more that it was a mistake leaving Alucard alive. All semblance of Dracula's legacy had to end before the Belmonts could finally rest. Maybe then he could really stop caring, finally. 

Maybe then he would finally find peace.

\-------

Hector and Alucard were both silent as Hector led him down to the dungeons. Though it wasn't so much 'leading' him as it was walking together. Alucard knew the way to the dungeons himself. Hector's presence was nothing more than a formality; the prisoner "leading" the imprisoned.

It had been a while since the forgemaster had been in Dracula's castle, but he still knew how to navigate its labyrinthine halls. It was strange being back… He knew the castle was emptied of Dracula's army, but the demon king’s influence was still all around, like the dark lord and castle were one and the same. Every dark shadow felt like a ghost of the grand old vampire himself, watching Hector with spitefulness and hatred.

He tried not to think too hard about it.

The dungeons were deep below, but not as deep as some parts of the castle. Hector led Alucard to a cell with a "window", a tiny sliver in the wall 30 feet above. The rusty iron door creaked as Hector pulled it open and Alucard let himself in with no protest. He went to the opposite wall and sat down, leaning against the cool stone and closing his eyes. Hector watched him, noticing how the one small shaft of moonlight illuminated Alucard's face and hair… He would have looked like an angel in that dirty cell, were it not for the blood caked to his face and hair.

Hector wanted to say something, anything, but he was at a loss for words. He closed his eyes, pushing the door closed with a loud screech then turned to leave-

"Your night creatures betray your true intentions."

It was Alucard who had spoken, and it was an odd thing to say. Hector looked back and was surprised to find his favorite undead cat had slipped through the bars and found a place on Alucard's lap. The kitty purred and swished her tail happily as Alucard stroked her.

Alucard watched the feline curiously, running his fingers down the length of her tail, "So gentle… I hate to think how my father recruited such a kind person for such a cruel purpose."

Hector frowned, looking to the ground and considering _how_ indeed, "Humans are cruel." He said finally, but then added quieter, "And as it turns out vampires are even more cruel."

He waited for Alucard to call him 'stupid' or 'naive' like everyone else, but the dhampir did not. He simply continued petting the cat with melancholy look. Instead he said, "One of your night creatures is with Trevor and Sypha?"

_Trevor and Sypha... The two Alucard is ready to give up everything for?_

Hector nodded, "It would appear to be that way."

"Does that mean you know where they are?"

Hector hadn't considered this before, "I suppose I do… Vaguely. It would take me some time to locate them, but I suppose it's not impossible."

Alucard became quiet again and Hector expected him to say something else. Alucard too appeared conflicted. It was clear he wanted to ask Hector of something, but couldn't bring himself to.

The cat left his lap. Alucard withdrew his hand and leaned his face away from the moonlight, shrouding himself in darkness. It was clear the conversation was done now.

Hector turned away, leaving him alone in his cell.

\-----

Hector joined with Lenore in Dracula's master bedroom. A bedroom that he supposed Alucard had been using… A room that had always felt off limits before.

Lenore was sitting at a magnificent vanity and helping herself to some of Lisa's jewelry still left behind despite the woman's death. Lenore admired herself in the mirror, two gaudy ruby gems twinkling from her pointed ears. The color of wrath.

Hector's night creatures were hanging all around the room, an odd menagerie of all sorts of animals, though some were human. An undead snake slithered around the edge of the vanity, a mangled wolf curled up at the foot of the bed. Most disturbing were two chimpanzees cloistered together in a dark corner, looking over one another's shoulders at Hector and Lenore with frightened glowing red eyes.

Lenore smiled when Hector entered and rose from the vanity, turning to face him, all warmth and kindness, "I assume you had no trouble?"

"No trouble." He reported flatly.

She approached and part of him recoiled; he was never sure if she would be gentle or cruel. Of course, now he was free, he could run…

But his feet were glued to the floor. He could see she took pleasure in his servitude. He was completely hers, ring or no ring.

XXXXX

She took his hands in hers and pressed herself against him, "You were so good today, Hector."

Oh god. It was affection. And his body reacted to her, so hungry for her love… When she wrapped her hands around his waist he practically melted into her arms.

And he hated himself for it.

He hands slid up his back and into his hair, the long caress made his heart pound and his mouth go dry, "I suppose I should reward you." She bought her lips close to his and all he wanted was to taste her again.

His night creatures turned away, unable to watch as he gave into her again and again… He was so hopeless, begging her to love him.

She pushed him onto the bed a little aggressively. His head hit the pillows and before he could respond she was on top of him, tugging at his shirt with her playful dainty fingers.

His chest heaved with hungry anticipation. How disgusting he felt for how much he wanted her. How in the world was it that with all of her abuse it only made him want her love even more? Perhaps it was a sick and twisted manipulation… like a hungry dog in a cage begging to be fed by the cruel master, all puppy dog eyes and wagging tail every time food was tossed his way.

She pulled back her bodice and he grabbed at her breasts, indulgent and needy and stupid. Again his night creatures looked upon him in pity and shame. Of course he cared what they thought. Of course he cared as she mounted his dick and fucked him in front of all of them, and instead of trying to stop her he begged her for more. It was disgusting and horrible and not only a betrayal to them, but a betrayal to himself… a betrayal to himself every time.

They fucked each other through the better part of the night before Lenore conceded, claiming she wanted to go to bed "early" as their plans would be executed during daytime hours.

In the dark of the night while she slept, Hector lay next to her, sweaty and spent and still covered in her smell. His night creatures gazed upon him like _he_ was the sad creature and not they.

He thought of Alucard, sitting alone in the dungeon cell with only the moonlight as his company.

What was it Alucard was going to ask of him?

His chest twisted. His night creatures responded with gentle cooing and whimpers of concern.

_"Your night creatures betray your true intentions."_

Hector clenched his fists. He wanted to cry. He wanted to cry and hoped to die a death where his soul would be devoured… Why couldn't he just be her puppet and let himself fade into a pleasant non-existence?

But his heart couldn't take it.

He silently wept and he slid from the bed sheets, hot cum sticking to his thighs as a reminder of how his body betrayed him again and again. Giving into her and letting her posess his body and heart in some fucked up desperate sort of romance.

He grabbed his clothes and slipped out into the night, terrified but unable to stop himself.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'gates' open, subjecting Alucard to absolute "Hell". Opening the gate doesn't go quite how Isaac and Lenore expected, and we find ourselves meeting many old "friends".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For folks who skipped the last scene of the last chapter, what is important to know is that Hector felt compelled enough to sneak away from Lenore. The scene left off with him gathering his things and slipping out. You'll have to read on to see where he ends up. ;)
> 
> I have included some post-reading notes for this chapter as well! This is a pretty intense one so bear with me. :) I hope you enjoy!

Day break. The sunlight came into the dark dungeon cell as sharp as a blade. Alucard never spurned the light before, but now he found he despised it. He curled away from it into a corner of the cell, watching the sunlight unfurl as the day woke up. He hadn't slept a wink, unable to when his stomach was so sick from rotten blood.

It would all be over soon, he guessed.

He heard Isaac coming before seeing him, the forgemaster materializing in the darkness like a ghoul himself. Isaac stared at him for a considerable amount of time, making Alucard extremely uncomfortable.

Isaac finally spoke, "You are not planning to run, are you?"

Alucard didn't even bother to sit up from the dirt and lifted his hand unceremoniously, "I believe this ring would prevent me from doing so." He waved it around.

Isaac smirked, "I know you are not a fool… There are ways around any agreement, even one as grave as the one you bound yourself too."

Alucard heaved a sigh; _just kill me already why do I have to argue?_

"I do not break my promises." He said sternly, "I will not betray you."

Isaac laughed aloud, "Tell that to your father."

Alucard finally turned his head to look at Isaac with an angry scowl, "You think I'm a traitor? Had it ever occurred to you that _he_ betrayed _me_?"

"He was to create a world you could live comfortably in, half vampire. You would be the first to know that the world could never accept you, no matter how kind you are and yet you fight for its behalf. I wonder how Dracula raised such a spoiled brat."

Alucard was really starting to wonder too… But still, he smirked, "I think you misunderstood my father's true intentions…"

"Even if I did misunderstand, I loved him. And because of that I was ready to serve him to the end regardless of his true goals. That's more than you could say."

Alucard raised a brow, "You do not think I loved him?"

"You did not." Isaac gave the cell door a firm tug.

Alucard stood up and stepped through the door, stopping in front of Isaac. They could not be more different from one another… Alucard held open his hands to Isaac, allowing the forgemaster to shackle him if he was so afraid of the dhampir running.

Isaac just responded with a chuckle and walked away. Alucard followed, being led on back through the dark hall... leaving the ray of sunlight completely behind.

Alucard really didn't want to talk to Isaac, but this was also his last possible conversation with someone… And he was curious, "Where were you when we the stormed the castle? I doubt someone of your loyalty would have run and hid."

Isaac stiffened, his fury palpable, "Your father used that mirror to send me away. It was not my choice."

The reality of it made Adrian's body go cold, "He saved you…" ... _then tried to_ _kill me._

"If I was there… You might not have been so lucky."

Alucard was pretty sure this guy was delusional, but he didn't argue. What was the point? Isaac and Dracula were going to win and Alucard was too tired and broken to try fighting it anymore. He would leave this fight to the monster hunters and magicians… 

He considered for a moment how he had told his father that his whole charade was the world's longest suicide note. He had never thought that those words might have been better suited for himself.

From the moment he was born, perhaps his only purpose was to die. It was a dreadfully miserable thing to think, but right now Alucard just wanted to feel miserable.

They finally entered the great hall and found that Lenore had been busy. The grand hall was painted with bloody runes and other demonic symbols, from the red carpet to the parapets. Night creatures everywhere were lining the walls, hanging from the ceilings, and even slithering around the floor; an audience of wretched creatures for a wretched performance.

Lenore stood and smiled at Alucard and Isaac as they entered; "Strip him." She ordered.

Two of Isaac's night creatures approached, grabbing Alucard by the shoulders, peeling away his shirt. Alucard tried very hard not to react… But the last time he had been so exposed…

He felt the cool air of the castle wafting against his bare chest and wanted to shiver. He could feel the demon's fleshy fingers brush at his skin and how similar it felt to Sumi's and Taka's very own callused hands.

Isaac and Lenore were right next to him, and they were speaking, but their voices sounded so farway, like he was underwater...

Isaac: "Where is Hector?"

Lenore: "He went out. I suppose he is keen to exercise his new freedom."

Isaac: "You are not concerned?"

Lenore giggled, like a drowning bird, "Not in the least. Hector will come back to me."

The last article of clothing was removed, leaving Adrian completely naked before them. He couldn't look at either of them, his mind caught in a gray area, focusing on trying _not_ to relive the moment Sumi and Taka used him.

But Lenore touched him, tracing her finger along a scar, "What happened to you?" She asked, sounding more amused than concerned.

Isaac hummed in thought, "A monster hunter?" Then he smiled with realization, "Or maybe… two…"

"Oh!" Lenore gasped, "Those two skeletons out front!" Then she smiled too, "It seemed an odd choice of decoration for you, dear Adrian." Her fingers danced down his chest and abdomen, following the circling scar from their silver bonds, "But now… it makes sense…" Her nails tickled him below the waistline, causing him to flinch. Without thinking he grabbed her by the wrist, keeping her fingers away from him.

She didn't seem at all bothered, even as her bones popped and cracked in his clenched fist. She looked at him sadly, "How unfortunate… This is how humanity has repaid you for saving them from Dracula's hoardes." Then a sad sigh, "Your story is a tragic one, dear Adrian. It is a shame that it could not have ended better for you."

Alucard trembled, overwhelmed and unable to let go of her. She did not fight him, but waited patiently, until finally he loosened his grip. Her hand came away from his bruised but she did not scold him or give him any ill. She simply turned away, walking toward the center of the room, where the spokes of a giant wheel she had painted on the floor came together… The center of it all. The keyhole where he would be the key.

He reluctantly followed, standing in the designated spot and kneeled before her. She took a moment to admire him; the way his blonde hair fell over his shoulders. The darkened blood staining his cheeks and the tips of his hair somehow accentuated his already starkly pale features. There was no sunlight in this room, and in the flickering candlelight he almost glowed like a star.

"I couldn't have asked for a better canvas." She commented, lifting the paintbrush and pressing it to his forehead.

Isaac stood at the corner, arms folded, waiting. He appeared calm and composed, yet he was anything but. His night creatures all around leaned in to watch, hungry and expectant, revealing his excitement in their quickened breath and salivating jaws… It was finally happening now.

\------

Sypha awoke when the horse jerked, causing her to nearly fall off the saddle but Trevor was quick to catch her. Instinctively she threw her arms around his shoulders to keep from falling off, then blushed and let go of him just as fast.

The horse stopped. She found she was sitting side saddle on the horse, practically in Trevor's lap, and she looked around confused, "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes…" Trevor gave the horse a little kick so they could start moving again. The horse sauntered along a familiar road, the same demon being tugged along behind, looking a little tired.

"Did we travel all night?"

"We did." Trevor continued staring straight ahead, "We'll be at my hometown soon…"

She rubbed her head, "I can't believe I fell asleep."

With that Trevor's brown furrowed and he stole a glance at her, "You're sick…"

Sypha groaned, "Don't start telling me that being sick means I cannot help you or some other chivalrous bullshit."

Trevor didn't say anything. That only made her more mad. She folded her arms, "Well!?"

Trevor looked at her exasperated, "You told me not to say any 'chivalrous bullshit' so I thought it better not to say anything!"

"So you really don't have anything else to say?"

Trevor blushed a little and looked aside, "Not really no." He said quietly.

Sypha jumped off the horse. Trevor reached for her, "Sypha… You ought to take the horse, I can-"

"I said I didn't want to hear it, Trevor!" She called back to him.

He shook his head and actually smiled, "Couldn't tell that woman to lie down on her own death bed…"

The demon spoke up, "Unholy Satan she is fucking annoying!"

Trevor shot him a warning look and the demon whimpered with alarm. Trevor was about to stop the damn horse and rip into him when thunder rolled overhead. Trevor frowned and looked out in the direction they were going, the direction of the castle. Dark clouds almost seemed to be gather over the castle... Like something was pulling them in.

"Will we make it in time?" He wondered aloud. But in time for what? Neither Trevor nor Sypha had any idea what Isaac was planning, but for some reason the closer Trevor got the more he felt time was running out.

Sypha looked back at him; she seemed to share his concern.

"We'll get there when we get there." He told her, "That's the best we can do." He urged his horse on, knowing they would need to stop in town to let the poor girl rest… And Sypha being sick?

The thunder rumbled again. Trevor's fingers tightened on the reins. He remembered the way Alucard stood in the darkness, eyes ablaze and swords drawn, daring him. The last memory of the vampire's face.

More thunder rumbled. Some rain drops hit his face. Sypha and him moved closer to the treeline for some shelter as the rain began falling in sheets. Trevor shuffled the morning star, making sure it was safe under his cloak to save from any rust.

Sypha's meek voice floated up to his ear through the rain, "Do you think he's okay?"

Trevor felt his heart breaking, but he wasn't sure why, "I don't know…"

\-----

Adrian's body was completely covered in red runes. He now looked like painted marble and Lenore took a step back to admire her work. He had been avoiding eye contact with her all this time, but now his yellow eyes locked with hers.

She smiled warmly at him, and his chest twisted, hating how much her smile looked so much like his own mother's, "You somehow look more beautiful when you are so sad…" she told him.

He wanted to kill her.

The urge to kill her roiled up his throat. He even bared his fangs but the ring on his finger reacted, zapping him and clenching his muscles so tight he couldn't move. Lenore could, of course, see what was happening… but there was no point in taunting him. Not now.

She lifted the paintbrush and all smiles disappeared from her face, "The final stroke…" She hovered the brush over his forehead, "And the door will open."

Isaac remained stoic, but his night creatures responded with excitement. They chittered and giggled, scratching and hissing in anticipation.

_Do it…_

She pressed the soft brush against his forehead, right between the eyes and Alucard felt like the world dropped out from below him.

Immediately the spokes of the painted wheel lit up. Everything she had painted began to glow brighter and brighter, including the runes on his skin.

He clenched his jaw, trying not to cry out as they began to burn. The night creatures all around finally broke loose, dancing and cheering like it was the final act of a show. Lenore standing over him, paintbrush still pressed to his forehead, suddenly looked like a terrifying goddess- as if she alone was creating all of his power that was suddenly surging through him and through the floor.

But it wasn't her, it was _him_. His body the key, he felt his own conscious ripping in two- human and vampire, mortal and immortal. Still he did not scream, but the pain was unbearable. The room began bending around them and they all watched as demons began dripping out from the walls.

Lenore looked confused and she pulled back the brush, stepping back from him as the entire castle morphed before their eyes.

"Where is the door?" Isaac shouted over the din. But it was clear what was happening, "There is no door." Lenore said coldly.

Indeed. There was no gate at all, and Alucard could feel it. Finally he screamed as one plane met with the other, Earth and Hell slamming into each other with him at the apex of it. The pain was beyond anything he could have ever imagined. The two planes began to merge, using all of him as the catalyst for doing so. Beings were emerging all around and Isaac realized he recognized them! The vampires of Dracula's army were reappearing, every single thing that was killed and sent to Hell was reappearing in their realm. 

Alucard could see them too. Wincing through the pain his eyes met with each and every vampire he, Trevor, and Sypha had personally killed as they all turned to look at him.

He was not prepared for this. But he was even less prepared for what was to come next.

_Sumi and Taka._

They were there! Revived like the rest. Standing in the corners of the room, Sumi on the left, Taka on the right. They stared at him with rage and hurt. Furious that he had killed them, heartbroken that he had killed them.

And that's when Adrian truly lost it.

His screams became animal; his humanity leeching out of his body and into the floor. His body was blending into the fabric of reality and separating from it at the same time. So painful and incomprehensible, Adrian gave up any sort of dignity, giving into the monster. Hatred and rage consumed him completely as both Earth and Hell hungrily ate at him, both vying for him and _needing_ him, both competing to have him.

Something snapped; his body was flung from up off the floor and he slammed into the wall over the throne, hanging upside down with his arms spread out, like an upside down crucifix. His limbs stretched out like roots into the walls, his body sinking in until only his torso was exposed, embedding himself into the new plane of being.

As his hands disappeared, the ring from Lenore popped off and fell to the floor. No longer needed- the deal was completed.

He took quick sharp breaths, feeling his life draining from him. Unable to really think of much of anything but the feelings of _pain_ and _hopelessness_. But, of course, the unification of the two planes was not yet complete... He wouldn't be let go of just yet...

_There was one last person to emerge._

Rising up from the center of the painted wheel, in the very place Alucard once was; Dracula, King of Vampires, with an arm wrapped around Lisa's shoulders.

Hanging upside down, Alucard's tired eyes met his father's… Father and son seeing each other one last time before Alucard's eyes fluttered and his soul finally slipped away, leaving nothing but an empty body.

In a world where life and death had combined, Alucard was the only being that was now truly 'dead'... Dracula stared at his son's mutilated body hanging over what once was his throne, trying to comprehend what he was looking at, and Lisa wept beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter definitely isn't as smooth as my previous ones but I am describing some pretty intense emotional stuff and incomprehensible dimensional stuff. I feel like the ending could carry a little more oomph, but oh well. I could slave over it for ages trying to get it right... But then you all would have to wait longer for the next juicy chapters. ;) Maybe I'll come back and tweak with some of the language to make it more clear!  
> Just in case it's not clear, instead of opening a gate, this particular ritual has actually made Earth and Hell one... So the following chapters will be quite interesting. ;)  
> Alucard, as well, is kind of like a key stuck in a keyhole... If that's also not clear, his body sinking into the wall symbolizes how his body has sewn itself into the new dimension, like he's tied them together.  
> Anyway, thank you for reading! I know this is a huge twist and I hope I haven't thrown too big of a curve ball at you! Thank you for reading!!
> 
> P.S. does anyone know the name of where the Belmont estate is located?? I'm just trying to work around needing to say any names ha ha!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the ritual completed (and Alucard used as a sacrifice), Hell and Earth have become one, reintroducing many characters who had previously been killed... Including Dracula, who Isaac believes will be impressed with what he has done with Alucard. Meanwhile Trevor and Sypha fight to survive as the world becomes covered in demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update took so long for me to get out to you all. I just started teaching full time and BOY has it kicked my butt (really could I have picked a better time to become a teacher? :P). It felt good to finally get this chapter out to you all. I think this is a fun chapter with a whole lot of action. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, thank you everyone who has commented. Honestly your kind comments have kept me coming back to this. <3 It is super motivating! Thank you!

The rainstorm only got worse as Sypha and Trevor finally entered the small town. Townsfolk were rushing indoors, both from the rain and from Trevor's night creature. The demon looked around nervously, always wary around people.

Trevor stopped the horse in front of the inn and threw his leg over the saddle. Sypha turned back to him, with a frown, "We're stopping?"

Trevor looked her up and down; he had let her use his hooded cloak to shield her from the rain, but even the thick material had been completely soaked through, rendering it useless. She was pale and looked sick as ever, but the determination in her eyes had not wavered.

"Sypha…" Trevor could hear the strain in his voice. He was trying not to be emotional, but it was becoming increasingly difficult, "You're tired, I'm tired, my horse is tired…" He gestured back to the demon, "I am sure that thing is tired."

"No, actually!" The demon responded snottily, "We night creatures never really tire in this form!"

Trevor looked like he wanted to throttle the thing, "Why am I still dragging you around…?"

Then a fourth voice spoke up, "Belmont." 

They all turned, seeing the innkeeper had stepped out and was glowering at Trevor. He was a big man with a big gut, and Trevor was surprised to realize he recognized the guy from his childhood. They were close in age… Even friends.

He didn't look very friendly now though, and Trevor grew more nervous as a couple of thuggish looking men stepped out of the inn behind him, all hostile.

"I didn't recognize you when I first saw you…" The Innkeeper carried on, looking Trevor up and down, "We'd heard every Belmont had gotten killed… I didn't realize one of them may still be kicking around."

Trevor sighed, "Yep. Still here." He tugged at the night creature, pulling it forward and throwing an arm around the demon's shoulder like me might a friend, "And still monster hunting."

The men looked at the demon's giant penis and Trevor smirked, "Impressive, isn't it?"

One of the thugs sneered, "Repulsive."

The other whispered loud enough for Trevor to hear, "Run him out of town, Brutus…"

The Innkeeper Brutus puffed his chest and Trevor rolled his eyes. A fight over needing a place to rest was the last thing he wanted right now.

But he wouldn't need to. At that moment the ground shook. They all looked around as the buildings began to rattle.

Sypha gasped, "An earthquake?" 

Trevor frowned, "In Wallachia!?"

But then the demon spoke up, shrill and terrified, "Oh no! Oh no it's happening!!"

Trevor glared at him, "What's happening!?"

"I don't know but I feel it!" The night creature clutched onto him terrified, "I can feel it! It's coming!"

The shaking began to die but the demon remained petrified. Everyone looked at each other confused then Trevor demanded again, "What's coming!?"

A thunder clap crackled across the sky. They all turned toward the direction of the Belmont estate and watched as a bright light pierced into the clouds. They were all awestruck and speechless.

Brutus shouted, "What the hell is that, Belmont!?"

The clouds began to recede… But there was no sky. The wind swirled around the beacon, peeling back the clouds and revealing… something. It was too hard to see.

Trevor could see the shockwave coming, "Get down!" He shouted, just as the wave breached the edge of town. They all dropped as a blast of wind crashed through the streets, breaking windows and knocking over anything that was in its way. Then it rippled off into the distance.

Sypha coughed, dusting some dirt off of her and they all looked up…

The clouds were gone and over their heads was….

Brutus gasped, "Is that…?"

"Hell." Sypha gasped in shock.

Hell itself had replaced the sky, looking down on the surface of the Earth. They all stood there, silent and awestruck, staring into the faces of demons who looked back down at them equally perplexed… It was as if something had taken Hell and Earth and sandwiched them together.

It was difficult to comprehend what they were looking at, but there wasn't much time to think as the demons overhead took flight.

"Here they come!!" Trevor grabbed the morning star as two big creatures landed on the buildings next to them. One of them opened its mouth and clamped its teeth down on Brutus's neck, decapitating him and spraying them all in blood.

But those two weren't the only ones, demons were falling all around them, crashing into houses and shops. Human families began running into the streets screaming, all trying to escape. But there was nowhere to run, the creatures were everywhere.

Just ten feet away from them, a little boy was knocked from his mother's fingers just as a night creature pounced her. The child shrieked in terror and Sypha jumped into action, igniting her hands and blasting the creature away.

"Trevor!" She shouted, grabbing the boy by the arm.

But Trevor was frozen in shock, watching the terror unfold around him, unable to understand what he was seeing.

"Trevor!" She shouted again. His grip tightened on the Morning Star but still, he couldn't move.

He couldn't say how, but he somehow felt it… Alucard wasn't there anymore.

"Trevor!" Sypha shrieked and he watched as a night creature clamped its teeth on her arm and ripped it clean off.

That woke him up.

He swung the Morning Star and lashed the beast between the eyes, making its face bubble and and explode with puss. It did not fall though, and Trevor wondered if it could even die if there was no Hell to send it to.

Sypha gripped her bloody shoulder with her remaining hand and cried out as she singed it.

"Mama!" The little boy shouted and Trevor was shocked to see the woman revived… She sauntered toward her son with a hungry look in her eyes, "Kid, wait!" Trevor tried, but the boy was in her arms and her teeth gouging out his neck.

This was a fucking nightmare.

Sypha was puking again. His demon friend was squealing in terror and Trevor had to do something.

"Get to the church!" He shouted at anyone who could hear him.

He threw his arm in the direction of the church, and there were some around who could hear him and they began running in that direction.

He spun the morning star, positioning himself between the demons and the church. Sypha staggered to her feet, but ignited her remaining hand, ready to fight.

"Cover them." He ordered.

Hector's night creature tried slinking away but Trevor grabbed him, "You too, buddy. You're going to fight."

"I-I can't fight! -EEP!" He dodged a small swarm of goblin bats screeching overhead.

Trevor had no time to argue and began swinging the morning star with one hand, pulling out his old whip with the other, "Then you better learn fast!"

\------

Despite the pandemonium outside, Dracula's castle was quiet… Save for the gentle sound of Lisa's weeping.

Isaac could not help but smile, looking at Dracula standing before him… Alive. Real.

Isaac knelt to him, "My Lord."

Dracula did not move. He stood as still as a statue, back to Isaac, while Lisa cried into his cloak.

Isaac continued kneeling to him anyway. The other vampires all around watched with some confusion and whispered among themselves. All save for Godbrand, who burst into guffaws, "I should have given your dumb human generals more credit!" He laughed and laughed, "Bringing Hell to Earth!? What a feat! I cannot wait to have fresh human blood again."

But Dracula remained quiet, ignoring his old stupid 'friend'. When he did finally speak, he addressed Isaac only, "How is this possible?"

He did not dare look away from Alucard, who remained plastered into the wall and starkly unmoving. Dracula could see the old wounds on his body from a previous monster hunter, he could see how thin Adrian had become after starving himself, and he took in the mutilation of his son's body as his flesh meshed into the wall…

"Welp!" Godbrand announced, "I, for one, do not care." He turned to leave, "I'm gonna find some fresh blood and good beer."

The other vampires too, starved and eager to taste fresh blood again began leaving to hunt. Cho noticed Sumi and Taka standing at the corners of the room and the two monster hunters quickly slipped out before she could get too close. The vampire smirked evilly and dissipated into fog.

Soon only Isaac and Lenore remained as company to Dracula and Lisa. Isaac was dripping with pride, "It was Lenore's suggestion, to use your son as the key to open the gateway to Hell… Though neither of us expected _such_ success."

"You used Adrian… As a key…?" Under his cloak, Dracula clenched his fists. It was subtle, but Lisa noticed it, "Vlad…" She said softly, hoping to soften his anger.

Isaac did not notice, and carried on proudly, "You and I have always had an appreciation for poetic justice. Did you know that in your very own son was the key to your resurrection? The only being in either plane capable of creating your vision; a Hell on Earth. Your very own child. Or maybe you did know this which is why you chose to bring such a strange creature into the world."

Lisa could feel Dracula's anger, like it had taken form… And she could understand it. After all Adrian was her child too, brutally crucified, tortured and ruined. It wasn't as if she didn't feel the horror of it. The hatred of it. But still-

"Vlad. Please-" She tried imploring his humanity but it was already gone.

"Did you think this would be a gift to me?" Dracula asked coldly.

"Killing your only son? No." Isaac reported, "I saw it as a necessity."

Dracula remembered hurling Adrian across the floor of his own childhood bedroom. The way his son had crumpled against the toy box he had carved for the boy with his own hands, how Adrian's blood painted the walls of the room he and Lisa had painted themselves. He too had once felt that killing Adrian was a necessity.

And Isaac, the very man he chose to save, had gone through the trouble of doing what he couldn't do.

_"You want to bring a child into this wretched world?"_

_"Not exactly what I said- I said I wanted to bring 'your' child into this 'not so' wretched world."_

_"You know what he will be… A half vampire… There will be no place for him neither in life, nor in death. He will experience a loneliness even more isolating and profound than the one I have created for myself here."_

_"But, darling, he- or she- will have us."_

"Dracula," Lisa tried again, "I know how it feels. I know- but please take a step back. Wait until-"

He tossed her aside like a rag doll. She rolled across the floor and hit the other side of the room and fainted. And then Dracula turned on Isaac.

Isaac got up from his knees but Dracula had him by the throat before he could run. Isaac's night creatures all around reacted with confusion, all voicing Isaac's true feelings as his throat was crushed in Dracula's fist.

"I cannot even have the pleasure of killing you." Dracula growled, "But in this new world… I can change you."

As Isaac 'died', his body morphed and changed, the color of his skin draining to a dull blue, his eyes went wide and his mouth blood red. Dracula threw him, tossing him through a stained glass window above; "No one will be allowed to enter this chamber!"

He turned back to Lisa, and saw little Lenore helping her to her feet. He snarled and reached out for them but Lenore threw her cloak over Lisa and the two women disappeared.

\-------

The church was old; the stone work timeless, having withstood every test of time imaginable. Trevor only hoped it would continue to hold in this current insanity.

Villagers poured into the chapel. Stained glass windows painted the room in odd colors and at the altar Christ himself looked down upon them, tortured and broken on his own crucifix.

"Cover the windows!" Trevor ordered.

All abled bodied hands, men and women, young and old, grabbed the pews, hurling them against the windows as demons crawled along the glass, trying to break in.

"Is this consecrated ground?" Trevor sputtered to himself, trying to run through the strategies his mother and father had taught him, knowledge locked away under decades of alcohol and homelessness.

A demonic hand burst through a window next to him, suggesting it was not consecrated ground.

"We need to consecrate it." He told Sypha, who was still fighting next to him despite her sickness and brutal injury; "Consecrate it!?" She gasped, "Do you really think God is here right now!?"

The last villager ran in through the wooden door and with a flick of her wrist Sypha called the wind and hurled the doors shut. The giant doors rattled and shook as demons hurled themselves at the blockade, desperate and hungry for fresh meat.

"Your magic is still here." Trevor pointed out, just as a pew behind him was thrown back from the wall and a giant spider attempted to push in. He swung his morning star over his head and bat it back, the thing hissing and spitting as it scrambled back from his divine weapon.

"My magic is not divine!" Sypha pointed out, "It's from the land itself! The only thing that isn't part of this stupid manmade heaven and hell bullshit!" With that she stomped on the floor and the ground rumbled. Outside of the church walls the ground rose up, rippling outward from the church and throwing demons back… but it was still not enough.

Trevor looked at the morning star; it was still divine.

He ran across the church floor toward the altar.

"Trevor!?" Sypha gasped.

The doors blasted open and demons began pouring in.

Trevor tripped over the final pew and rolled clumsily up to the altar. An empty table for offerings sat before him with a polite satin cloth. Overhead was the crucified savior, thorny crown and all, looking down at him with a sad and tired look.

Trevor looked up at him desperate, even as a monster hunter he was never a holy man. The church killed his family…

But now he was helpless. People were dying all around him…

He took the morning star in both hands, looking up at "God". He spoke, "Whatever God may be here now…" he raised the morning star over his head, "Please accept this offering." He laid it gently onto the altar, feeling a little foolish… but he didn't know what else he could do.

He bowed his head to Christ, wondering if God would be more forgiving if he expressed complete humility.

"What are you doing!?" Sypha screeched from behind, "Help us!" She shouted, just barely holding on as she tried to fight back the onslaught of demons with one arm.

"Help us…" Trevor quietly begged.

He stole a glance up at the crucified god and his heart stopped. He could have sworn it was Alucard looking down at him and then the morning star ignited. The floor of the church glowed red like blood and then the demons began screaming.

Those remaining inside the church burst into flames. Those who were trying to get in recoiled.

The ground had been consecrated.

\-------

Sypha leaned against a pew, still recovering. All around the survivors were recovering. Outside chaos reigned, the sounds of demonic howling and terror echoing all around.

Trevor stood high up in the church tower, next to the brass bell, looking out over his childhood home as it fell to monsters. He noticed none of the demons he and Sypha had attacked were deceased but were instead mutilated beyond recognition. Humans too who had 'died' were still there as well, having become nothing more than zombies shuffling around the town, hungry and confused.

"Hell really is here…" He said quietly, wondering how he was ever going to fight things that could never really 'die'?

But God was still there? The church remained untouched, and various demons attempted still to get in, driven by their insatiable hunger, but the walls of the church zapped them away, as if electrified.

Trevor wasn't sure if it was God… But there was something protecting them. And whatever it was, it accepted the sacrifice of his morning star.

And... This it even protected some demons- "This shit's crazy!" The demon with the giant dick that Trevor somehow could not get rid of poked his pointed nose over Trevor's shoulder, taking a peek.

Trevor rubbed his temples, "Oh how I wish you had burned up too."

The demon ignored Trevor's comment and clucked his tongue, "Exactly as I remember it… Only, somehow, more devastating."

"Hell, you mean?"

The demon nodded.

The demon's past hadn't really crossed Trevor's mind. It only occurred to him then that the guy was maybe once a human, punished to tote that massive thing around…

"Were you a rapist or something?" Trevor asked.

The demon gave him a perplexed look, "What?"

Trevor waved his hand at the phallus.

"Oh." The demon responded, "No. I was a homosexual."

Trevor was, for a moment, speechless, before scowling, "And that's worth this kind of punishment?"

All the more reason to hate God and the fucking church… He thought bitterly, wondering how many countless people had suffered thanks to such arbitrary doctrines. Why love between two men was considered sinful he never understood.

The demon actually chuckled a little, "You're telling me…" And then he looked up at the 'sky', a little whimsical for a moment, "He was perfect." His voice sounded just a little more human as he spoke, "He rarely ever smiled, but when he did it was like seeing the sun after days and days of rain. So warm and inviting."

Alucard's smiling face crossed Trevor's mind, right before the smile twisted into a smirk and Alucard flipped him the bird. Trevor couldn't help but smile himself, but his heart was also broken. Alucard hadn't smiled even once when he had last visited… Instead of seeing it as a cry for help, he had only seen it as a warning.

The demon went on, "I knew I would burn in Hell for loving him but I didn't care. I always figured as long as I was burning in Hell with him it wouldn't matter but…" The demon actually managed to look sorrowful, "I never found him down there. Part of me hopes he somehow made it into heaven. I'd like to think that he hasn't had to suffer for loving me."

Trevor stared at the ground, his chest and stomach filled with a mixture of wretched feelings. It was like being drunk with the spins but he had had nothing to drink; "What was his name?"

"Daniel." The demon gave a sad laugh, "It's funny because I remember his name but not my own."

"Daniel." Trevor repeated.

Clouds rolled in, obscuring the Hellscape above them. Rain began to fall and Trevor watched as it singed at trees and on the skin of whatever creatures hadn't taken cover; acid. Wonderful. Even the weather was miserable.

Trevor turned away, "We should go back down… See how everyone is doing."

"Wait." The demon stopped him and pointed into the distance.

Trevor turned back and squinted his eyes, seeing just a dark spec in the distance. A bird?

As it drew closer, Trevor could see it was indeed some kind of bird… But it was massive. A giant black demonic crow with a shrouded rider on its back. The acid rain streaked off the dark feathers of the bird and shiny cloak of the rider, unable to penetrate either.

The bird swooped down to the church and landed on the roof, sweeping a massive gust of wind from its wings that nearly knocked Trevor from the belltower. The beast perched on the rooftop, making itself comfortable as the rider dismounted and walked carefully across the rooftop toward Trevor.

He readied his whip, "Who are you!?"

The black rider stopped, acid rain pelting off his shoulders. The man looked up, just enough for Trevor to see his face from under the hood.

The demon piped up, "It's Hector. My forgemaster!"

"Hector…?" Trevor's grip tightened. He knew that Hector was one of Dracula's generals, and he knew that Hector was trying to draw his night creatures to Dracula's castle… 

Hector shouted through the rain, "Are you Trevor Belmont?"

"Yeah, the very one who chopped Dracula's head off! What do you want with me?"

Hector's face was not at all hostile, on the contrary, he looked upset, "I came here for your help… But I'm afraid I'm too late…"


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hector explains to Trevor what happened and offers a way to save Adrian.

The church was chilly, which Trevor found somewhat amusing. After all, didn't everyone say that Hell was burning hot? On the contrary, it was miserably cold and villagers hunkered together in the small space while acid rain continued pelting against the outside, keeping the demons at bay.

Hector delicately removed his cloak, careful not to drip any acid onto his skin. Trevor realized it was one of Dracula's robes. He set his jaw, arms folded, still trying to judge how much this "Hector" could be trusted. The dick demon was delighted to be reunited with his master, and Hector treated him kindly enough. 

Sypha was lying on the pew next to Trevor, looking terribly sick. Another thing to worry about in all of his mess. Trevor put a hand to her head. She nuzzled against his palm in her sleep. It was such a small gesture, but the effect it had over him was huge. He was for a moment entranced, but then noticed Hector's eyes on him.

Hector lifted a brow, "So you two are the ones Alucard would give up everything for?"

Trevor stiffened, "Excuse me?"

Hector pulled a book from a satchel hanging off his shoulders. He flicked through the pages, then revealed an illustration almost identical to what Trevor and Sypha had seen in the abbey at Lindenfield; a demonic beast pinned as an offering, symbols painted around the room… The ritual needed to open the door to Hell.

Hector started, "Are you familiar with this ritual?"

Trevor nodded solemnly, "Unfortunately, yes."

Hector flicked through the chapter before landing on a page detailing the specific requirements of the ritual, "The size of the gate often depends on the quantity of the souls being devoured."

Trevor twitched, painfully reminded of all the lives lost in Lindenfield.

Hector dragged his finger across the book, "However, here." He pointed at the word, 'planar creature', "There was some speculation that the kind of soul used could have an even grander outcome."

"A 'planar creature'?"

Hector nodded, "A soul that stretches between two planes of existence- for example, a being that is dead and undead."

Trevor's mind was putting up a mental blockade, refusing to connect the very obvious dots; "That doesn't make any sense."

Hector looked up at him, "You're right, such a creature, like a dhampir, doesn't make much sense. Which is the whole point. Such a being is defying the natural laws of not one, but two planes by being both dead and alive."

Trevor didn't want to believe it, but he cleared his throat and asked carefully, "So a dhampir, like Alucard, could be killed and used to open a gate to Hell?"

Hector closed his eyes, hating to be the bearer of bad news, "Lenore, a vampire from Styria, proposed the ritual to be performed with Alucard. Such a ritual has never been performed before so we were not sure how successful the results would be. Everything in this book is just theoretical." He stole a glance out the window, just as the rain subsided and hungry demons began closing in again, "It appears it was more successful than either of them could have possibly imagined..."

With that Trevor jumped to his feet, face red with fury, "Don't be ridiculous!" He shouted, causing even Sypha to startle awake; "You're telling me Alucard was used to create this nightmare!? He would never agree to such a thing!"

Hector's mouth dropped open, taken aback by Trevor's sudden outburst. He looked between Trevor's eyes, not sure how to tell the Belmont, but thankfully they were distracted by a knocking at the church doors.

The villagers near the door backed away fearfully. Trevor huffed, looking between Hector and the door, trying to figure out what to deal with first, and eventually charged to the door, whip in hand.

"Stand back." He pressed his fist against the door and carefully pushed it open.

At first there was nothing but fog, but slowly it began materializing before him, taking the shape of two women. One was small, with striking red hair and a face like a porcelain doll. The other was tall and slender, almost ghostly, with blonde hair pulled into a thick braid draped over her shoulder. The smaller one gave him a disarming smile and Trevor was quick to notice her fangs; a vampire, "Trevor Belmont." She spoke like a bird, "A pleasure to meet you in person. I hope that my dear Hector is here?"

The other woman looked up at Trevor weakly, and he was startled to find that she looked shockingly like Adrian, "A Belmont?" She asked curiously.

The rain having stopped, some hungry beasts began moving in closer again. The slender woman clutched to her vampire escort fearfully, but Trevor wasn't about to let them both in.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

The little red head spoke again, "This is Lisa Tepes, Dracula's bride."

Adrian's mother. The one burned at the stake?

Trevor swallowed hard, "And you?"

"My name is Lenore."

Trevor scowled, "Hector tells me you are the one responsible for this mess."

Lenore just carried on smiling, "I would like to think of it as a new challenge."

Trevor smirked, "So you'll admit that things didn't go exactly as you planned?"

Lenore's perfect smile twitched ever so slightly. The beasts were drawing in closer.

Lenore closed her eyes, "I can admit… I was too bold. The outcome of the ritual is not exactly as I expected. There is a reason why I was never the 'ideas' one in our Styria sisterhood. I always left the ideas to Carmilla…" She looked aside, almost forlorn.

Trevor had absolutely no sympathy. He instead turned his attention to Lisa, "You're a doctor, right?"

Lisa nodded. Trevor opened the door wider, "It's against my better judgement to let you two in, but I have a sick patient."

"Is that an official invite?" Lenore clarified.

Trevor sneered, "Yes. I officially invite you in, though I'm not sure if whatever God has consecrated this church would let you in."

But Lenore had stepped across the threshold before Trevor had even finished, completely unharmed. She chuckled lightly, "It seems your 'God' is quite forgiving."

As soon as the door was shut behind them Trevor grabbed Lenore by the arm, nearly lifting her from the ground, "Explain to me what happened!?"

He was distracted when Lisa spotted Sypha and rushed to her side. Trevor let go of Lenore and watched Lisa as she dropped to her knees and began assessing Sypha's condition. The way she touched Sypha was so gentle, but her eyes were scrutinizing and serious. It was a look he was so familiar with… One he had seen in Adrian time and time again, and he realized that maybe Adrian didn't take after his father as much as Trevor had originally thought…

He ignored Lenore and approached Lisa, watching her as she worked. He was sure it was awkward of him to hover over her like he was, but she didn't seem to mind. He had so many questions, but was unable to find the words he wanted to say.

She checked Sypha's pulse, observed the freshly cauterized wound, curiously, she pressed a hand into Sypha's stomach and Trevor wondered what she was feeling around for. Finally she made an assessment, "I might be wrong, but I'm afraid she's about to miscarry." Lisa stood and looked to Trevor.

"Miscarry." He said flatly.

And honestly, he had already dealt with so many shocks that day he didn't really know how to handle another. His mind was blank.

He sat down on the pew next to Sypha and stared into the church walls absently.

Hector spoke for him, "Is there a way to save the child?"

"Yes." Lisa said,"If she wants to save the child."

The ring on Lenore's finger sizzled and she sighed, slowly approaching the group. As she did, Hector took a nervous step back, and the dick demon cowered behind his master, regarding Lenore like she was Satan himself.

"I made a vow to your son to bring no harm to Sypha Belnades and Trevor Belmont." Lenore explained, showing them all the ring, "It seems his will has pushed that deal further, and I am also bound to aid them when they are ill. What does she need? I can bring it to you."

A vow to protect us?

Trevor had assumed Alucard wanted to kill him…

Old feelings were filling his chest. Those kinds of feelings he tried to run from, moving from one place to another, never staying long. Those feelings he tried to drown in beer and brandy every god damn night. The horror of having lost someone you love. Not understanding how it happened… The guilt of being the one who was still alive when the others who had died were so much more deserving. The fear of not knowing where to go or what to do.

Alucard. What happened to you? Where are you?

A gentle hand touched his shoulder, he looked up into the face that looked so much like Adrian's, "Are you okay?" Lisa asked him gently, "You're shaking."

He looked into her eyes and wondered how she could be so calm in of all this horror. She looked at him like a mother might at her own child. Trevor had been orphaned so young, he had almost forgotten what that looked like… What it felt like.

"I have been told that Adrian exchanged his life for yours." She told Trevor.

He felt that was enough reason for her to hate him, but there was no hint of malice in her expression. All of the malice and hatred was in his own heart, churning against him, hating Adrian for throwing himself away in exchange for a worthless hopeless drunk like him; "A foolish deal…" Trevor spat bitterly, lowering his head in shame.

But Lisa shook her head, and with a tone as firm as her child's she said, "My son was no fool. I trust his judgement." And she turned to Lenore, leaving it at that, not allowing any argument from Trevor who had to sit there and consider her words.

I trust my son's life was worth yours.

Trevor sat there befuddled while Lisa quietly spoke to Lenore, instructing her on what things she needed, when Sypha suddenly coughed, "Congratulations. You are going to be a father."

"Did you know?" Trevor asked.

She shook her head, "I do now."

He didn't even ask if she wanted to keep the baby or not, he wasn't ready himself to have that conversation. Behind his head he could almost feel the eyes of Jesus drilling into him. The judgement of "God" all around him.

Are you a noble warrior or a hopeless drunk?

Hector's voice floated over the din, almost as quiet as a church mouse, "There might be a way to reverse all of this…"

Trevor locked eyes with him, making the forgemaster jump; "Go on…" He asked darkly.

Hector swallowed then showed Trevor the book again, pointing at long pages of scrawling letters. It seemed whoever was the wicked sorcerer who wrote this evil tome had taken to stream of consciousness, writing in mad scribbles. Trevor squinted at it skeptically, unable to read the mess of letters.

Hector explained, "It is theorized that souls are like any other matter, they cannot be created or destroyed. They can only change in form. Thus we can also assume that any should destroyed during the ritual are not actually destroyed but instead sent into a pocket dimension."

Trevor frowned, too tired and upset to interpret what Hector was saying, "So Adrian is in some kind of limbo?"

Hector nodded.

"Which means I could bring him back here?"

Hector sighed, looking down at the book, "I don't know how you would even open the passage to get to the other planes, more or less how you would navigate it once you are in there-" Trevor suddenly became aware of the little stone from Saint Germaine, heavy in his pocket, "-The Infinite Corridor sounds like a treacherous place. One where it is easy to get lost-"

Trevor stood and walked toward the door. 

Hector gasped, "Where are you going!?"

"I don't know about you but I don't want to live in Hell. At least, not yet."

Hector tripped along behind him, "Shouldn't we come up with some sort of plan?"

Of course they should, but Trevor didn't really want to stop and think to be honest, doing something felt better than just sitting around plotting. He yanked open the door to find Lenore standing on the other side, holding a basket of herbs and a medical bag. Trevor blinked in surprise; he hadn't even notice her leave, "That was fast."

She smiled, and Trevor hated how pretty she was, "I'm not human, remember?" She joked.

Hector hid behind Trevor's shoulder, and Trevor wondered what horrible things she had done to make the forgemaster so afraid. She seemed so… small. So innocent.

She tilted her head, her red hair falling across her neck and chest; "Are you going to try to save Adrian?"

He pushed past her, "That's none of your business-" but stopped when he realized he had walked into a crowd of waiting demons. Rows and rows of eyes and dripping fangs looked back at him, hungry. He put a nervous hand to his whip, but the demons did not move. They just stood there, watching, and then he felt Lenore's cold fingers on his arm and he realized that they were holding back because of her.

They were more afraid of Lenore than they were hungry for him.

Lenore's birdlike voice twittered into his ear, "I vowed to protect you, I think you could use my help."

His heart pounded; he even blushed a little. Some kind of vampiric charm?

"That seems ironic." Hector said from the door, "When you are the one who brought this all about!"

Lenore looked back to him, and even without seeing him Trevor knew Hector was cowering.

Trevor looked at the demons surrounding them, and sighed, "As much as I don't want to accept your help… My partner is ill." He was, of course, referring to Sypha, "And I could use all the help I could get."

"Then I'll come with you too." Hector said suddenly.

Lenore smiled warmly, "How brave of you, Hector." Her tone of voice made it sound so much less patronizing than it was. She looked to Hector's dick demon, who hadn't left his forgemaster's side, and the poor demon jumped, hiding behind his master.

Lenore gracefully held the basket out to him, "Why don't you stay here and help Lisa with those sick people? You seem the caring type."

The demon actually blushed a little, talking the basket in his sharp claws. He looked up Hector, silently asking for permission and the forgemaster nodded his approval. The demon scurried back to the church and Lenore looked back to Hector and Trevor, "A forgemaster, a monster hunter, and a vampire. We make quite a team, don't we?"

Trevor rolled his eyes, "Stop with the sweet talk and let's go."

She chuckled, "I'll find a way to win you over, Trevor Belmont. I always do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)
> 
> P.S. I am well aware that a doctor probably can't catch that a woman is pregnant and about to miscarry just by observing them, but why not give Lisa super special awesome doctor powers? ;)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor, Hector, and Lenore reach Dracula's Castle to face off the many horrors waiting for them inside. Will they make it to Alucard?

Trevor didn't want to admit that he was terrified of flying. To be honest, how was he to know? He had never really flown before. He clung to Hector like a child might their parent while the two rode on the back of the giant flying crow, making their way toward Dracula's Castle. Trevor never thought of himself as someone who was afraid of heights, but he had also never been on the back of a giant beast miles above the ground, being buffeted by updrafts, downdrafts, and whatever other forces that made the damn bird swing around the sky like it was! The bird dipped suddenly, causing Trevor to yelp and hold onto Hector tighter. Hector chuckled, "Are you okay?" He asked.

Trevor's eyes were clenched shut as he yelled, "YES. I'M FINE. OF COURSE, I'M FINE. I'M A BELMONT. WE AREN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING."

Over his head he could see Lenore, fluttering around as a pretty little bat. He was sure she too was laughing at him, and he was glad she was in her bat form so he wouldn't have to hear it.

The sky was misty, obscuring both Hell and Earth as the three glided through the air. Above and below were scenes of terror and strife, villages burning, people screaming in terror while demons had their hey day. But as they drew closer to Dracula's Castle and the Belmont Estate, things got quieter… Soon above and below there were only trees.

The silence was somehow more unsettling.

"Are- are we almost there?" Trevor gasped, desperate to get off the bird.

Hector replied, "We can see it now…"

The spires of Dracula's Castle pierced through the fog like dark monoliths. It was so tall the tips of the tower nearly brushed against the dirt of Hell over their heads. It was beautiful and frightening all at once.

Trevor had never seen it from this perspective before, and it took his breath away.

"Watch out!" Hector suddenly shouted and the bird jerked. There was a loud screeching as a flock of angry goblin bats flew up from below and attacked the crow's left wing. The crow cried out and swerved to an odd angle, its wing injured. They began hurtling closer to the ground.

Overhead, Trevor watched as the angry flock of goblin bats reformed and plunged down toward them, "They're coming back!"

Little Lenore darted up into the middle of the angry little beasts, causing the bats to part just enough so that Hector and Trevor could avoid the brunt of their attack. Trevor watched as the little scarlet Lenore darted around the flock, not attacking the creatures so much as disorienting them; breaking them apart so they couldn't attack as a group.

Clever.

One of the Castle spires loomed in close, "I'll try to land us there." Hector said, before steering the crow sharply in the direction of a small window at the top of the tower.

The goblins bats swarmed them again, nipping at their arms and legs, pulling out feathers from the bird. Trevor tried batting them away but there were so many, and every time he let go of Hector he threatened falling off.

"We're almost there." Hector said, then gasped.

The crow slammed into the side of the tower, unable to control itself, and began scrambling on the side of the wall, breaking off brick and mortar from the massive structure. Trevor fell off the bird, but quickly used his whip to latch onto the side of the tower. He swung a circle around the spire and then…

It snapped.

"You've got to be kidding me." He was able to mutter before plummeting down the side of the tower and landing on a balcony a fair distance below.

He lay face down on the concrete, groaning, "I'm pretty sure every single one of my bones… Is broken…" He heard a snarling hiss from the other side of the balcony.

He sat up, spotting a hideous looking monster with teeth as big as its face gazing at him hungrily from the other side of the balcony. With his whip broken, Trevor had no weapons. He shakily got to his feet, clutching the side of the balcony for support, ready to fight the damn thing with his fists.

Lenore darted down from the sky and quickly changed shape into a scarlet wolf. She dashed out in front of Trevor and violently ripped out the demon's neck.

It wasn't dead, but it lay in the ground twitching, violently incapacitated.

Trevor was about to take a sigh of relief, when he saw another similar toothy beast limping down the balcony toward him.

In fact... The entire rooftop was crawling with the strange fleshy, toothy ghouls.

Hector landed gracefully next to him and pointed to Trevor's left, "There's a way in." He said quickly.

The lupine Lenore began darting around, providing them cover so they could run. Creatures big and small began appear from seemingly everywhere; things with claws as big as swords, things with eyes as big as dinner plates.

Trevor huffed out as they ran, "For a man as lonely as Dracula, his Castle always seems to be crawling with lovely guests!"

Hector spat back, "Is this really the time for jokes?"

Behind them they could hear Lenore's paws scrambling across the rooftop, also running. Even she was overwhelmed. 

Trevor was first to reach the door, and he charged through it so fast he nearly fell down the stairs on the other side. He scrambled for a moment to stay on his feet then started down the stairs, "Come on!" He shouted after Hector and Lenore, but Hector stopped when Lenore cried out. One of the demons had her pinned to the ground, her scarlet blood splattering against the ivory rooftop.

Hector's heart lurched for a moment, and he hated that even now he was afraid for her. Afraid of her.

She changed out of wolf form and smiled up at Hector from the floor. Even skewered she didn't even grimace; she didn't even look like she was in pain.

Trevor saw what was happening, "Leave her!" He shouted to Hector.

But Hector was stunned. He stood there staring at his captor in shock; Was this the end of her?

She coughed up some blood, "I figured this might happen." She lifted a shakey hand, the ring on it buzzing viciously, "Alucard would never let me stop, not even to protect myself."

She was already so pale, but even so she began losing color… In her hair… In her cheeks, "Hell might be better suited for me anyway… I don't think I could live in a world without my sisters."

As she lost life, the ring cooled and slipped off her finger. The demon wrenched its claws out of Lenore, and turned its attention to Hector and Trevor. Hector took a step back but Lenore grabbed the thing by its mane and threw it over the rooftop, her strength renewed in death. She appeared ghostly now, her hair as white as snow, and when she looked back at Hector her eyes were glazed over with a milky film.

He took a step back, preparing for her to attack him. But instead she held open her hand to him, in it was the cursed ring. Carefully, he took it from her palm, just as more demons began climbing over the sides of the roof, ready for round two.

"Use it wisely, Hector." She said, before pushing him through the door and slamming it shut.

On the other side, they could hear the sounds of a violent battle. The door rattled, but it was clear Lenore was not going to let anything through. Hector stood there, shocked and trembling… And Trevor felt sorry for him. He had no idea what the forgemaster's relationship with her was like, but he could see the little vampire was dangerously bewitching.

Trevor put a hand to Hector's shoulder, "She doesn't have power over you anymore." He said, "Now let's go."

\--------

Was he sad? Was he relieved? Hector wasn't really sure… He mostly felt…

Numb.

Why would Lenore go through all of this trouble to fix her mistake? She just got herself killed. She wouldn't even get to see the world she just died trying to save.

He remembered standing with her on a high balcony, overlooking the snowy landscape of Styria… How much she admired the beauty of a frigid night. Did she love that world enough to save it? Even if it meant she herself would never enjoy it?

Hector didn't know. He didn't think he could ever understand Lenore… And now he wouldn't have to bother trying anymore. He was free to live a life free from her.

Assuming they succeeded in their mission, of course.

Trevor yanked at a torch from the wall, patting at his pockets, looking for something to light it and muttering about being without a weapon. It was almost dark as pitch, and Hector squinted to keep from falling down the stairs. He heard something strike and the hallway burst into view, the torch alight in Trevor's hand. They stood at the top of a long narrow staircase that disappeared into an abyss. The darkness yawned before them, purring with the strange hum of electricity that filled Dracula's Castle. The walls and ceilings were filled with cobwebs; a forgotten tower in a castle large enough to house a city…

All home to one lonely soul.

Trevor looked back to Hector, "Lead the way."

Hector took a deep breath, accepted the torch from Trevor, and started down the stairs. They were a long way from the throne room… And Hector wasn't sure what was lurking in the dark.

As they moved down the stairs the humming grew louder and louder until finally they reached the end; the staircase stopped abruptly at the edge of a chasm. Before them was a giant space that housed massive machinery. All around them were churning gears, swinging pulleys, and spinning cogs, all humming and grumbling along with the occasional hiss of a steam vent relieving pressure.

Hector frowned and looked around for a possible way to go from here. Trevor gasped in exasperation, "Why would you have stairs leading to a dead end!?"

"To disorient you." Hector was well familiar with the intentionally confusing layout of this beast of a castle. He spotted a metal catwalk below and pointed it out to Trevor, "That might lead us somewhere."

Trevor looked down warily, "And is quite a far way to fall…"

Hector propped the torch onto a holder next to them. He took a couple steps back, then propelled himself out into the open space and landed gracefully on the flat surface of a massive slowly turning cog not too far in front of them. He straightened, inspecting if the platform held steady under his weight and it did. He looked back to Trevor expectantly.

Trevor could definitely make the jump, but he was still going to complain the whole time; "Only a sick fuck would take the time to design such a maddening castle!" Then he charged out, much less like the deer-like Hector and more like a bull, landing on the cog right on his butt with a loud thud, causing Hector to wince.

Hector looked down at the monster hunter, confused, "You… really do not come off to me as Adrian's type."

Trevor frowned in offense, "What's that supposed to mean??"

But before Hector could answer a shrill screech echoed through the space. The two looked around anxiously, trying to locate the source of the sound as the thing screeched again, louder. The sound bounced and echoed off the machinery all around them, making it impossible to identify the creature's direction.

Hector pulled out his hammer and Trevor… readied his fists, "Ever fist fight a demon before?" He asked Hector.

Hector scoffed, "I have heard you aren't a very classy fighter. I would like to think you fair better with your fists than I." 

Below them a dark shadow moved through the whirring machinery. It was hard to make out, but the large bat wings were visible even in the dark.

Trevor grumbled, "Why can so many of them fly?"

The serpentine beast became visible, flying past them and breaching over their heads in an elegant snaking curve. Its scales were jet black, and on its back was a blue skinned rider that Hector recognized instantly; "Isaac."

Isaac twirled his hammer and leapt off the serpent, landing on the slowly spinning cog just opposite of Trevor and Hector. He stood tall, glaring at Hector with the same milky eyes as Lenore; a living corpse.

"Hector." He said flatly, "Why are you here? Do you intend to reverse what has happened?"

"I do." Hector said firmly, and Isaac just laughed, "You were ready to enslave humanity as Dracula's general…" He began prowling around the edge of the cog, like a lion circling its prey, "Or is it possible that you have been persuaded to join in some pitiful attempt to save the world? I would find your fickle nature less annoying if you were not such a powerful forgemaster. I will give you that much. First Carmilla, then Lenore, and now...?" He paused, looking to Trevor, waiting for an introduction.

Hector sneered, ignoring the question, "What has blind loyalty granted you? Has Dracula killed you? Was it all worth it in the end?"

Overhead the serpent cried out. It was nearly impossible to discern the beast from the shadows. Its grating screech echoed around the purring machinery. Trevor looked around for it anxiously, ready to grab its jaws to keep the beast from biting him in two. But the serpent did not reveal itself- instead it howled angrily from the shadows.

Isaac spoke, "You know nothing of loyalty. I will serve Dracula until the end of time."

Hector was appalled, "But look at what he's done to you! To the entire world!"

Isaac huffed, "What does it matter? What world was there to save before? This world is no different. Humans and demons are alike in their cruelty… Demons simply come by it honestly."

Hector set his jaw, his grip tightening on the handle of the hammer. Trevor, behind him, was momentarily struck. Was this new Hellish world really no different than the one from before? The church killed his family in the name of sanctity, the kind mayor of Lindenfield slaughtered children he deemed antisocial, the monks at the Monastery killed an entire town for their own misguided reasons. So many people who did wicked things under the guise of goodness.

Trevor went cold. The serpent overhead cried out, the shrill sound rattling his heart and soul.

_Why am I here? Why do I care? What world is there to save?_

Hector sensed Trevor's waivering will, "Trevor…" He hissed, loud enough for Isaac to hear.

"Trevor? Trevor Belmont?" Isaac's voice was as thick and smooth as a hot drink, but it made Trevor's blood run cold; "I could have guessed by the family crest you wear… I have heard of the fate of the Belmont family. The rumors of a child who escaped while his family burned. I have heard from my forged servants that the fire from the Belmont estate was so hot, it was even felt in Hell."

The room was so cold, but Trevor could feel the heat again. The flames licking his fingers and toes… He was only in a nightgown when the house was set ablaze. The flames were already so thick and so high, he couldn't find his parents, his brothers and sisters.

By the time he was awake he was already alone in the chaos.

Trevor was sinking. The serpent overhead began to nosedive back toward them, its agitated angry cries felt like needles in the air. Hector could see it coming, "Trevor!" But Trevor was frozen. 

Hector himself had never fought, only forged. He wasn't ready. He needed Trevor!

Isaac's voice droned out from under all the other sounds, smooth and steady; "It was Dracula's desire to peel back the veneer of lies and falsehoods humanity has created." He held out his blue, claw like hand and said, "What is the difference between human and demon? There is nothing… Only that demons cannot hide their true nature. Our sin is written on our rotting skin, our fangs, and sharp claws… Our penchant for violence as clear as the sun. We cannot hide it. Our sin becomes a part of who we are. We cannot pretend!"

Trevor thought of all the demons he had ever seen; in books and in real life. Every creature uniquely deformed…

Vampire fangs, werewolf fur, imp tails and scales, inflated send shrunken limbs.

Or... Giant dicks.

_"Were you a rapist of something?" He gestured to the demon's large phallus._

_"No. I was a homosexual."_

That ridiculous, phallic demon and his deformity. Was he wearing his 'sin'? Was that truly his crime?

No…

How was loving someone a 'cruel sin'? That demon wasn't wearing his true nature… Death made a mockery of him. But life? It didnt. On Earth love wasn't a sin. His punishment of loving someone never existed during his time on Earth. He was free to be happy and in love without any punishment for it! Only other people saw issue with it.

'Sins' only existed in Heaven and Hell. Those stupid "mandmade" things, Sypha would say.

Trevor clenched his fists. He couldn't say that world before was perfect, but he knew damn well it was better than this one.

The serpent was upon them; "Trevor!" Hector cried.

It opened its jaws, ready to swallow them, but Trevor was faster. He grabbed Hector by the arm and threw them both over the edge. The catwalk below raced up towards them before they crashed down onto it. Meanwhile, Isaac's serpent got a mouthful of metal and squealed in annoyance.

Trevor grunted in pain, but smiled, "Catlike reflexes." Hector, too, groaned next to him, but they didn't have time to recover- Trevor jerked Hector to his feet and began racing down the catwalk.

"Belmont!" Isaac's voice boomed overhead, but Trevor ignored him. He didn't want to listen to Isaac's bullshit anymore. They ran down the catwalk, their feet clanging loudly against the metal, and yet Isaac's voice was somehow louder, "You are a fool! Belmont! You of all people have suffered needlessly at the hands of selfish people and yet you fight to save those same people!?"

_I don't care. I don't care._

A door came into view in the darkness, still over 30 feet away. The serpent had regathered itself and dived toward them again. Trevor was not a runner, and everything burned.

The walkway rattled as the black serpent landed on it and began scrambling after them. Hector looked back at it in panic, "Trevor!" He yelped.

Trevor grabbed the door and threw them both through. The serpent's jaws slammed into the open door, but it was too big to get through. It angrily hissed and spat at the door, its teeth gnawing off bits of wall, its tongue lashed out at them, tossing acid saliva against the walls. Hector and Trevor scrambled back away from it.

"Do you think it can get through?" Hector asked.

"Let's not stay and find out. Come on!" They ran down the hall while Isaac's beast screamed behind them.

\------

The conservatory was dark and smelled like damp. A marble statue of a melancholy angel held a bowl in her hands that overflowed with water into a pool below. Aside from the sound of trickling water, all was quiet.

The plants in the conservatory were unkempt; ferns, vines, and trees having overgrown and taken over the space for themselves. In the darkness they made strange, still shadows that cast eerie shapes on the brick pathways weaving through the garden.

Trevor and Hector stood next to a stone bench, doubled over and catching their breath. Trevor stumbled over to the fountain and scooped some fresh cool water into his open palms. It tasted crisp and clean, filtered somehow in the castle's indoor plumbing.

"He'll probably find us." Hector warned while Trevor loudly gulped at the water, "Isaac's night creatures are crawling all over this place. We won't have much time…"

Trevor wiped at his mouth and muttered, "If only I had a weapon…" He paused, noticing a cool mist creeping along the floor.

Hector sat down on the stone bench, looking at his hammer, "Can I still forge here?" He wondered.

Trevor took a few cautious steps back toward Hector, fixated on the growing fog.

"It's not like I'm bringing souls from one plane to another…" Hector went on.

The mist began taking shape into a human form. Trevor gasped in shock as a vampire lunged out suddenly from the fog, but she was shot back from an arrow that came from somewhere behind their heads.

Hector jumped to his feet, "It's Cho."

A young woman leapt from the bushes behind him. They locked eyes; she had long dark hair, tawny freckled skin, and was dressed like a hunter, "This way." She said quickly.

Hector didn't have time to question; he followed her. Trevor too turned away from Cho as another arrow whiffled past his head and plunged into her chest. The archer appeared from the trees; a young man who looked similar to the young woman; "We can't kill her, only hold her back. Get to the exit." He told Trevor.

Cho turned to mist again. The group began running.

"Who are you?" Trevor asked as they ran through the garden.

"I am Taka." The boy answered, "And this is my sister, Sumi."

"We have blocked off all of the exits," Sumi said, "Including any vents she could slip through as mist. We can trap her in here."

Sure enough, as they ran past one of of the many doors leading out the conservatory, Trevor noticed it had been sealed shut around the edges with a thick caulk. "And what about us?" Trevor asked, "How are we supposed to get out?"

"There is an airtight cover in the floor by the apple trees." Taka said, "It leads into the Castle drainage system."

They rounded the corner and came upon the very trees just mentioned. Sad little trees heavy with rotting fruits twisted their branches among themselves, as if trapped in some chaotic dance. Trevor spotted a silvered manhole cover in the floor, decorated with an image of Lucifer giving Eve the forbidden fruit.

A silvered cover seemed an odd design choice for a vampire, but Trevor could guess Dracula didn't want any demonic vermin slipping through the sewage tunnels of his Castle.

Taka dropped to his knees and pried open the manhole, "Quickly." He said as mist clouded over their heads.

Hector jumped in, then Sumi. Trevor watched as Taka pulled another silver arrow him his quiver and fired it at the fog overhead. The clouds of mist recoiled and swirled.

Trevor waited not a moment more and jumped through the hole, landing with a squish in the sewer pipe below. Taka was quick behind him. He pulled the cover over their heads and locked it shut. Trevor could just make out the sound of Cho howling from the other side.

He shivered, "This castle sure is full of ghouls."

Sumi lit a torch, illuminating the filthy space. They were in the Castle's intricate drainage system. It was even more wet and smelly than the conservatory, but at least the sewage here was all from plant material.

"You're Trevor Belmont." Sumi noted, observing the crest emblazoned on Trevor's chest.

"The one and only." He gave them a cheeky smile, "Are you fellow monster hunters?"

Taka nodded, "We came here looking to apprentice with Alu-"

"You wouldn't happen to have any weapons I could borrow?" Trevor interrupted.

Sumi and Taka looked at each other, "Sure." Said Taka.

"What kind of thing are you looking for?" Asked Sumi.

"I'm trained with everything, but I really prefer a whip."

Sumi reached into her bag and pulled out a strange silver instrument, "It's not quite like a whip, its meant more for binding people."

Trevor stretched out the strange silver wire. He messed with it a little; it wasn't as flexible as a whip, but it would do; "It's better than nothing…" He said, attaching it to his waist belt, "How did you two end up here?"

"We were going to ask you the same."

Hector jumped in this time, "We've come here for Alucard."

Sumi and Taka nodded, "We understand." Sumi said.

"We are trying to get to him too…" Taka explained, "But we got distracted by Cho."

"He's still in the throne room. Dracula guards him."

Trevor grumbled, "Well, that's great news."

But Sumi and Taka looked undeterred, "If the four of us work together we could probably take him." Taka said with determination.

Sumi too, "It's the best chance we have." She said.

Trevor stood up straighter, "Glad to have you with us. Lead the way."

The siblings nodded and the four began following the dark sewers down… down.. to the throne room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my longest chapter yet... And least well written? Fight scenes are not my forte, and these action scenes have very little breaks in between!! Ha ha! Oh well. As always, I hope you enjoyed! And oh, Trevor... Are Sumi and Taka really the allies you are looking for? And is that silver wire really the weapon you want to use? ;)


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